OT: SpaceX Announces Plans to Fly Around the Moon

Submitted by stephenrjking on

SpaceX today announced that it is planning to launch two private customers on a flight around the moon late next year. The mission appears to be mostly or entirely funded by the prospective passengers, who have paid a significant deposit, and will utilize the Falcon Heavy rocket, which is scheduled to debut this summer. This would apparently occur shortly after the first Crewed Dragon mission to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station, another flight that has yet to occur.

The youngest people who have any memory of the Apollo moon missions turn 50 next year, so this would be an exciting, if ephemeral, step in human spaceflight. It comes at the same time that a political administration which will remain nameless has asked NASA to examine the feasibility of putting humans on the debut flight of the Space Launch System, currently scheduled for an unmanned launch in 2018 or 2019.

The relationship between SpaceX and NASA is kind of tricky, with NASA (wisely) contracting SpaceX for ISS cargo missions and astronaut ferrying, and SpaceX unreservedly praising NASA in the same release it announces a mission that must feel like a knife in the back. All of this is somewhat speculative, though, as all three prospective human-rated capsules (Orion, Boeing's commercial crew capsule, and SpaceX's crewed Dragon) are experiencing delays. So a little competition might be a good thing.

If US-based organizations can finally put astronauts back into orbit on their own vehicles, though, I'm excited to see it. 

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

February 27th, 2017 at 5:49 PM ^

Considering that, per an article I read earlier, the average SpaceX launch is about a $57 million proposition, I am willing to bet that private citizens that wish to fly around the Moon are going to pay something in the 7-figure range. I could be wrong, but I have to think that they try to recover a little of that launch cost. 

DenverMaize

February 27th, 2017 at 7:08 PM ^

Note that the ~$60M launch cost is for a typical Falcon 9 that is used to launch satellites to orbit. As noted by the OP, this will require a Falcon Heavy, which is substantially more expensive. I'm not sure if costs have been made public yet by Space X for Falcon Heavy launches (I've seen estimates on the order of $90M, but I'm guessing early launches will be costing more than that). I agree with others that 8 figures is more likely, although either way, Space X is investing a lot of internal $$ to fund this.

Alton

February 27th, 2017 at 7:27 PM ^

The Dragon 2 spacecraft is not included in that $90MM cost, either. 

Per wikipedia, "At a NASA news conference on 18 May 2012, SpaceX confirmed again that their target launch price for crewed Dragon flights is $160,000,000, or $20,000,000 per seat if the maximum crew of 7 is aboard, and if NASA orders at least four DragonRider flights per year.  This contrasts with the 2014 Soyuz launch price of $76,000,000 per seat for NASA astronauts."

And that's the price for a round trip to the ISS, presumably on a Falcon 9 and not a Falcon Heavy.  So maybe the lunar mission costs about $200 MM or so?  I don't know how much of that SpaceX will want to recoup, though.  Are they planning on filling all 7 seats on the Dragon?  Maybe just five--2 pilots, 2 passengers, and Elon Musk?  You have to assume he wants to be on that flight, too.

I would think they are charging at least $50 MM per passenger, but it could easily be twice that.

FauxMo

February 27th, 2017 at 6:14 PM ^

OK, let's try and guess who it is... I figure it's got to be two men, as only men would waste this much money on a risk this big. Plus, I figure they have to be billionaires to afford it. And I am sure they are close friends, because they'll be stuck together for all the training and the long trip. Last, they must be the kind of guys that have achieved great thing in life, and this is a "last great adventure." Anyone know two men who fit this bill??? 

kdhoffma

February 27th, 2017 at 10:40 PM ^

Falcon heavy is based on the falcon 9, which has had some 30 launches with only 1 failure. The crew dragon capsule borrows heavily from Orion and of course previous capsules like Apollo... not to mention is similar to the cargo dragon which has had a dozen or so successful missions. I'd say the SpaceX tech will actually be pretty well tested by the time they do this lunar flyby.

Blueblood2991

February 27th, 2017 at 6:19 PM ^

Pretty cool.

This has Jim and Jack Harbaugh written all over it. Maybe that's what the big life insurance policy loan was all about.

PEEETTEEE they're cheating to get recruits again.

Goggles Paisano

February 27th, 2017 at 7:59 PM ^

The whole concept of people capable of making this happen is mind-blowing.  The people that have the visionary capactity in addition to the monetary funds to make it happen is hard to comprehend.  They are some special cats that are wired much different than everyone else. 

BlueInWisconsin

February 27th, 2017 at 8:57 PM ^

Sending rich people into space just because they can pay is fucking stupid. Being rich != the training and expertise Of every astronaut America has ever sent into space. These people are liabilities toward any serious mission.

teldar

February 28th, 2017 at 11:11 AM ^

This sounds like someone who understand the idea of this space flight. They're not completing a "mission" other than in the fact they're going. The passengers are going to go up, not touch anything, and most likely, come back. They're breathing cargo. They're not crew. I'm not site what they have to be trained for other than leaving shit alone and being taught how to explode I'd things go wrong. BTW, it doesn't take much to learn how to explode when you're sitting on several tons of HE.

Alton

February 28th, 2017 at 12:41 PM ^

The training syllabus for the passengers would look something like this...

Day 1:  don't touch anything.

Days 2 through 29:  how to use the toilet.

Day 30:  don't touch anything except the toilet.

lmgoblue1

February 27th, 2017 at 9:59 PM ^

If I can land on the moon. I mean what's the point of just getting close? Geez. Now landing, that'd be worth the bucks. Oh, and taking back off again. Yeah don't forget that.