The worldB次元官网网址檚 first space tourist wants to go back B次元官网网址� only this time, heB次元官网网址檚 signed up for a spin around the moon aboard Elon MuskB次元官网网址檚 Starship.

For Dennis Tito, 82, itB次元官网网址檚 a chance to relive the joy of his trip to the International Space Station, now that heB次元官网网址檚 retired with time on his hands. He isnB次元官网网址檛 interested in hopping on a 10-minute flight to the edge of space or repeating what he did 21 years ago. B次元官网网址淏een there, done that.B次元官网网址�

His weeklong moonshot B次元官网网址� its date to be determined and years in the future B次元官网网址� will bring him within 125 miles (200 kilometers) of the lunar far side. HeB次元官网网址檒l have company: his wife, Akiko, and 10 others willing to shell out big bucks for the ride.

Tito wonB次元官网网址檛 say how much heB次元官网网址檚 paying; his Russian station flight cost $20 million.

The couple recognize thereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of testing and development still ahead for thatB次元官网网址檚 yet to even attempt to reach space.

B次元官网网址淲e have to keep healthy for as many years as itB次元官网网址檚 going to take for SpaceX to complete this vehicle,B次元官网网址� Tito said in an interview this week with The Associated Press. B次元官网网址淚 might be sitting in a rocking chair, not doing any good exercise, if it wasnB次元官网网址檛 for this mission.B次元官网网址�

Tito is actually the second billionaire to make a Starship reservation for a flight around the moon. he was buying an entire flight so he could take eight or so others with him, preferably artists. The two men both flew to the space station, from Kazakhstan atop Russian rockets, 20 years apart.

Tito kicked off space tourism in 2001, becoming the first person to pay his own way to space and antagonizing NASA in the process. The U.S. space agency didnB次元官网网址檛 want a sightseer hanging around while the station was being built. But the Russian Space Agency needed the cash and, with the help of U.S.-based Space Adventures, launched a string of wealthy clients to the station through the 2000s and, just a year ago,

are sampling briefer tastes of space with rocket company. expects to take paying passengers next year.

Starship has yet to launch atop a Super Heavy booster from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. At 394 feet (120 meters) and 17 million pounds (7.7 million kilograms) of liftoff thrust, itB次元官网网址檚 the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. NASA already has contracted for a Starship to land its astronauts on the moon in 2025 or so, in the first lunar touchdown since Apollo.

Tito said the coupleB次元官网网址檚 contract with SpaceX, signed in August 2021 and announced Wednesday, includes an option for a flight within five years from now. Tito would be 87 by then and he wanted an out in case his health falters.

B次元官网网址淏ut if I stayed in good health, IB次元官网网址檇 wait 10 years,B次元官网网址� he said.

TitoB次元官网网址檚 wife, 57, said she needed no persuading. The Los Angeles residents are both pilots and understand the risks. They share MuskB次元官网网址檚 vision of a spacefaring future and believe a married couple flying together to the moon will inspire others to do the same.

Tito, who sold his investment company Wilshire Associates almost two years ago, said he doesnB次元官网网址檛 feel guilty splurging on spaceflight versus spending the money here on Earth.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e retired and now itB次元官网网址檚 time to reap the rewards of all the hard work,B次元官网网址� he said.

Tito expects heB次元官网网址檒l also shatter preconceived notions about age, much as John GlennB次元官网网址檚 space shuttle flight did in 1998. The first American to orbit the Earth still holds the record as the oldest person in orbit.

B次元官网网址淗e was only 77. He was just a young man,B次元官网网址� Tito said. B次元官网网址淚 might end up being 10 years older than him,B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擬arcia Dunn, The Associated Press