We are excited to announce that SpaceX has been approached to fly two private citizens on a trip around the moon late next year. They have already paid a significant deposit to do a moon mission. Like the Apollo astronauts before them, these individuals will travel into space carrying the hopes and dreams of all humankind, driven by the universal human spirit of exploration. We expect to conduct health and fitness tests, as well as begin initial training later this year. Other flight teams have also expressed strong interest and we expect more to follow. Additional information will be released about the flight teams, contingent upon their approval and confirmation of the health and fitness test results.
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Once operational Crew Dragon missions are underway for NASA, SpaceX will launch the private mission on a journey to circumnavigate the moon and return to Earth. Lift-off will be from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Pad 39A near Cape Canaveral – the same launch pad used by the Apollo program for its lunar missions. This presents an opportunity for humans to return to deep space for the first time in 45 years and they will travel faster and further into the Solar System than any before them.
During a teleconference, Musk said the passengers, whom he did not identify, paid what he would call only a "significant deposit" for the roughly week-long, 300,000- to 400,000-mile trip aboard the automated Dragon spacecraft.
The announcement comes five months after one of the company's rockets exploded at Cape Canaveral, Florida, destroying a launch pad and a $200 million Facebook satellite.
"They are entering this with their eyes open, knowing there is some risk," Musk said, adding that the company's success rate was still "quite high."
In a news release, SpaceX compared the passengers — who will not be accompanied by NASA personnel — to the famed Apollo astronauts.
Wow!! Such a find could really provide insights into the Earth’s early geodynamics
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There's anomalies in NASA data? Say it ain't so...
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Today they launched SES-10, using a Falcon 9 1st-stage booster that had previously delivered a payload to orbit and returned to land on the SpaceX drone ship out in the Atlantic Ocean. This is the first time in the history of spaceflight that a 1st-stage booster - the most expensive part of the spacecraft - was re-used and successfully landed for the 2nd time. The main mission, delivering a satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, was also successful.