SpaceX to Announce Its First Tourist to Moon on Monday

Sep. 14, 2018

In a step that commercializes space travel, US private space firmSpaceXon Friday announced that it will send the first private passenger to Moon and will reveal his identity on Monday. The tourist will fly in theBig Falcon Rocket (BFR)being designed to carry people into deep space, the Elon Musk led company said in a tweet.

“SpaceX has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle — an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space. Find out who’s flying and why on Monday, September 17,”the tweet said.

In February, SpaceX debuted the long-awaited Falcon Heavy, which became the world’s most powerful operational launch vehicle, the report said. But during a Falcon Heavy press conference earlier this year, Musk told reporters that, for the time being, SpaceX had no plans to certify the Falcon Heavy for human spaceflight. Instead, Musk said, SpaceX would turn its focus to developing the BFR, which he deemed a better option for tourism missions.