SpaceX has announced on Twitter that they have signed up the first private passenger that will fly around the Moon. In the Tweet, SpaceX stated that more information would be released on Monday, September 17th, as to who the passenger will be and what the ultimate goals of the trip will be.
The company is currently developing the craft they plan on launching for this mission, and is still at least a year away from the initial test flight. The company has been developing the BFR Launch Vehicle for the purpose of this mission, and released an artists rendering of the craft soaring around the Moon in the same tweet.
The actual flight may be a few years away. CEO Elon Musk hopes to drum up lots of public attention to the company, and hopes it will be the spark that revinvigorates the public’s interest in space flight. The company has also publicly indicated their plans to launch a vessel toward Mars by 2024, and eventually even colonize the planet.
The company held a conference in Colorado with scientists and engineers, but kept most of the details about the conference under wraps. SpaceX also recently launched a satellite from a Falcon
