In A First, SpaceX To Send Two Paying Space Tourists ‘Beyond The Moon’ In 2018

Elon Musk’s SpaceX on Monday revealed its plan of sending two paying space tourists on a trip around the moon next year. The mission will use the Dragon 2 spacecraft that SpaceX is developing to carry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station.

This will be the first mission of its kind because no privately funded individual in the world has visited the space beyond the orbit of the International Space Station before. Duration of the mission is expected to be around one week.

When asked about the identity of the tourists or the amount they would be spending on the trip, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk informed that the two individuals had not given his company permission to release their names. "We would expect to do more than one mission of this nature," he said, adding that it's "nobody from Hollywood."

Talking about the viability of the program, Musk said that “a market for one or two of these per year” exists as of now. Space tour fares can contribute 10 to 20 percent of the company's revenue in the future, he added.

The Dragon 2 spaceship that will take the two individuals to space is set to fly its first unmanned mission late in 2017. The Falcon Heavy rocket which Musk wants to use for the tourist mission will make a debut test flight later this year.