SpaceX says Yusaku Maezawa will be its first ‘private passenger’ to travel around the moon on a solo rocket. Maezawa, a Japanese entrepreneur, will be the first private passenger to fly around the moon, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said at an event Monday night. The mission, made with a new rocket in development, the Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), will be “an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space," SpaceX said in a tweet before the announcement. Ref. USAToday.
A SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft is on its way to deliver the second commercial crew docking port and about 5,000 pounds of science investigations and supplies for the International Space Station after a 6:01 p.m. EDT Thursday launch from Florida.
The spacecraft launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and is scheduled to arrive at the orbiting laboratory Saturday, July 27. Coverage of the spacecraft’s approach and arrival will begin at 8:30 a.m. On NASA Television and the agency’s website. Ref. NASA.