WWW.ASTRONOMY.COM 23A trip around the Moon
SpaceX certainly has big goals. In 2012, the
aerospace company was the first private
corporation to dock with the International
Space Station. And in 2015, SpaceX was the
first organization, government agencies
included, to bring a rocket safely back to
Earth after sending a payload of supplies
to the space station. Yet the goal SpaceX
announced in February 2017 could be even
more difficult to reach, because it involves
the safety of human lives.
The aerospace giant announced its
plans to send two private citizens — who
will likely pay an enormous sum of money
— on a trip around the Moon. At the time,
the company set a date of late 2018, but that
goal is hard to believe, considering SpaceX
hasn’t sent humans into space yet. In its
February announcement, SpaceX said its
first crewed flight will take place in late
spring of 2018. In July 2017, the company
announced via social media that its heavy-
lift rocket, the Falcon Heavy, would have
its first test f light in November.
A mission around the Moon will cer-
tainly need that powerful rocket. SpaceX
has launched its Falcon 9 dozens of times,
but that rocket’s payload goes into orbit to
rendezvous with the ISS — a target only
about 250 miles (400 kilometers) above
Earth’s surface. The Moon is much farther
away (238,900 miles [384,500 km]).
It’ll take a lot more power to launchhumans and supplies to the Moon before
returning to Earth. For a crewed trip
around the Moon to occur, there’s still
technology that must be fully developed.
Many doubt it can happen by the end of
2018, but if it does, SpaceX will see itself in
our top 10 again.Earth rises just over
the lunar horizon in
this image taken by
the Apollo 17 crew.
When SpaceX sends
humans back to the
Moon, they’ll enjoy
similar views. NASAPad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center will become the home of SpaceX Falcon Heavy launches.
The rocket, shown in this artist’s rendition, is the company’s chosen vehicle to transport two
humans around the Moon in early 2018. SPACEX