The first space tourist in history wants to return, but this time he’s booked a trip on Elon Musk’s Starship to orbit the moon. Now that he is retired and has time on his hands, Dennis Tito, 82, has the opportunity to relive the excitement of his trip to the International Space Station. He has no interest in going back to what he did 21 years ago or taking a 10-minute flight to the edge of space.
He will be within 125 miles (200 kilometres) of the lunar far side during his week-long moonshot, which will take place at a future date. His wife Akiko and ten other people who are willing to pay a significant sum of money for the ride will be with him. Although Tito won’t disclose his payment amount, his flight to the Russian station cost $20 million.
The couple is aware that Starship, a shiny, bullet-shaped behemoth that hasn’t even made an attempt to enter space, still needs to undergo extensive testing and development.
Actually, Tito is the second billionaire to reserve a Starship for a trip around the moon. Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese fashion tycoon, declared in 2018 that he was purchasing an entire flight so that he could bring about eight other people—preferably artists—with him. Despite being 20 years apart, the two men used Russian rockets to travel from Kazakhstan to the space station.
As the first person to pay for his own space travel in 2001, Tito started the space tourism industry, upsetting NASA in the process. The American space agency did not want a tourist to be present while the space station was being constructed. However, the Russian Space Agency was in need of the money and, with the aid of the American company Space Adventures, launched a number of wealthy passengers to the station throughout the 2000s, most recently Maezawa a year ago.
Actually, Tito is the second billionaire to book a Starship for a lunar orbit. A Japanese fashion magnate named Yusaku Maezawa announced in 2018 that he was buying an entire flight so that he could take about eight additional people—preferably artists—with him. The two men travelled from Kazakhstan to the space station using Russian rockets despite their 20-year age difference.
Tito claimed that an option for a flight within five years is included in the couple’s contract with SpaceX, which was signed in August 2021 and made public on Wednesday. By that time, Tito would be 87, and he wanted a way out in case his health declined.
Almost two years after selling Wilshire Associates, Tito said he doesn’t feel bad about spending more on space travel than on other things.
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