Elon Musk signs up first passenger for round-the-moon trip on SpaceX

Who will be flying and why will be known on September 17

T E Narasimhan  |  Chennai 

Elon Musk
Tesla CEO Elon Musk (Photo: Reuters)

Billionaire Elon Musk's has signed the world’s first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard.

"has signed the world's first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our launch vehicle—an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of travelling to space," company's tweet said.

Who will be flying and why will be known on Monday, September 17 at 6 pm PT, added in the tweet.

The BFR, or Big Falcon Rocket, is SpaceX's forthcoming spaceship system that consists of two parts: A massive rocket booster that promises to out-power any ever built, and a towering spacecraft that will vault out of the Earth's atmosphere.

Only 24 humans have been to the Moon in history. No one has visited since the last Apollo mission in 1972, said the company.

It may be noted, in February 2017 SpaceX said that two people have signed a deal with SpaceX to make a trip around the moon aboard -- a Falcon Heavy rocket. However, it is still unknown if it is the same trip.

First Published: Fri, September 14 2018. 10:24 IST