On Wednesday, Elon Musk announced the names of two crew members who have reserved seats on Starship’s commercial orbital spaceflight. And they are none other than Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko. It will be Dennis’s second trip to the lunar orbit. Dennis Tito had the opportunity to be the first commercial astronaut in 2001.
Dennis Tito is an American businessman who was the first person to pay his space travel bills back in 2001. On Wednesday, he said that he plans to fly with his wife Akiko around the moon on a SpaceX mission. The trip will take place after Elon Musk’s company completes the development of a prototype Starship rocket and makes its first commercial flight with the participation of Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa.
Starship will fly within 125 miles of the lunar surface during the week-long mission, before returning.
Also read: India’s First Commercial Space Situational Awareness Observatory Will Come Up In Uttarakhand
10 More Seats Are Open For Others
Tito didn’t disclose how much he and his wife paid for the tickets but said the rocket has 10 more spots open for others to register. In 2001, Tito paid $20 million (2 crores) to fly to the International Space Station on a Russian rocket, ushering in the era of space travel.
Meanwhile, Maezawa has chartered all the seats for his mission called ‘DearMoon’, which is due by 2023 but could happen much later also.
Also read: Travel To Space From China By 2025 For ₹2 Crore; Here’s Everything You Need To Know
Professional Background Of Dennis Tito And His Wife Akiko
Tito is a well-trained aerospace engineer. He worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s, before founding Wilshire Associates, the investment management firm in 1972.
Akiko is a Japanese-born system engineer who later shifted into the finance field. Now, she will be the first woman to be on a starship around the moon.
Also read: French Astronaut Celebrates 20 Years Of Palm Jumeirah By Sharing Pictures Taken From Space
Source: benzinga.com & News18
Cover image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons