Flying around the moon for $ 150 million: tourists are preparing for an incredible journey

The private space company SpaceX announced the opening of tourist flights to the moon. The first 2 tourists who have already paid for the trip will fly to the moon in 2018. At the same time, SpaceX is not yet ready for a spacecraft to fly, nor a rocket capable of sending it to the Earth’s satellite, writes meduza.io.

Long flight

SpaceX will send space tourists to the longest flight in history around the moon. The head of the company, Ilon Musk, announced that next year 2 will send space tourists to the flight to the Moon. They will fly around the Earth’s satellite without landing and will return. According to Mask, during the flight, tourists will cover the distance in 500-650 thousands of kilometers - this is 2 times more than the flights of Apollo. The flight itself will take about a week. If SpaceX manages to carry out its plans, this flight will be the first since 1972 of the year. Landing on Earth's satellite in SpaceX is not planned.

Who will fly

The flight will be very expensive. Who flies, is kept secret. Ilon Musk refused to disclose the cost of the flight, but made a reservation that traveling to the Moon would not be much more expensive than the manned flight of the Dragon 2 spacecraft to the ISS. Approximate estimates of such a flight are known. It can cost a total of about $ 300 million. The Dragon 2 will be able to deliver people to 7 at a time on board the MKS (it is cheaper than flying on the Russian Soyuz, which costs $ 80 million), but send only 2 people at a time, that is, a 1 ticket will cost more than $ 150 million. It is expected that further flights to the Moon will bring SpaceX from 10 to 12% annual revenue.

SpaceX claims that 2 people have already agreed to the flight and made deposits. Their names were not mentioned, but Musk noted that these people are not from Hollywood and that they know each other. They will have to undergo extensive training. It is assumed that no one will accompany them on the week-long flight - the ship will fly on autopilot, and space tourists will be instructed what to do in case of problems.

Preparation may be delayed

So far, SpaceX does not have the technical capability to fly. Modern SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets are not capable of delivering a spacecraft to the Moon - this requires a larger Falcon Heavy rocket, the tests of which have been repeatedly postponed. They are still expected to begin in the first half of 2017; There is no talk of commercial launches yet.

The second component of the lunar program is a manned spacecraft. For the flight to the moon, SpaceX will use a modified Dragon 2, which the company is developing with NASA money and which will deliver astronauts to the ISS. Work on the Dragon 2 is not finished; its first manned flight to the ISS is to take place on May 2018, in the same year SpaceX will have to launch at least 3 Dragon 2 to the ISS under the contract. Given the inclination of Ilona Mask to unrealistic deadlines, we can assume that the first flight of SpaceX with tourists to the Moon will take place later than 2018 of the year.

Photo: depositphotos.com

Alternative

The SpaceX project is not the only way to see the Moon up close. The company Space Adventures, which sent all 7 space tourists into space, offers to fly to the Moon and see its surface from a height of 100 kilometers. Space Adventures is selling 2 seats for tourists who will first fly to the ISS, where they will spend 10 days getting used to the conditions of weightlessness. Then the lunar module will be launched to the ISS - it will dock with the Soyuz, on board which will be tourists and a professional cosmonaut. After this, the module will take the crew to the Moon and return to Earth.

The estimated cost of the trip is $150 million; one place has already been reserved by a certain well-known person (name not given). Unlike the realistic SpaceX initiative, the Space Adventures lunar project exists only on paper. But the company claims that the trip will take place before the end of 2020.

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