Elon Musk’s SpaceX is heading closer to sending its first batch of passengers to fly around the moon. Western media outlets have reported that the first batch of space passengers will be ready to fly by January 2023. The total time of travel around the moon is expected to last a week.
Since its inception, SpaceX has always stated its mission of making space travel a reality. And now it is well on course to fulfill that mission. Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa became the first registered space passenger. Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX released this information back in September 2018. The choice of this particular passenger is no coincidence as Maezawa is using his deep pockets to fund the mission.
SpaceX has been busy working on the development of its interplanetary spacecraft. The spacecraft will be thoroughly tested before the passengers board it. A crew-less test flight around the moon will most likely be conducted. The spacecraft is being built in SpaceX’s rocket plant in Southern Texas.
To provide updates on the progress of the interstellar spacecraft Musk has planned to hold an annual event. The first of such is scheduled to be held this September.
Once ready, the interstellar spacecraft designed by SpaceX will become the largest manned spacecraft. Its maximum capacity is rated to be 100 passengers. SpaceX aims to make it the primary transport vehicle for carrying passengers to not only moon, but also Mars, and if possible, even further.
Sticking to its principle of re-usability SpaceX is trying to make its interstellar spacecraft re-usable like its “Falcon 9” and “Falcon Heavy” launch vehicles. Both of these launch vehicles have been successfully implemented for multiple space flights. The company plans to replace them with its interstellar spacecraft in the near future.