space agency didn’t want a sightseer hanging around while the station was being built. 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 two men both flew to the space station, from Kazakhstan atop Russian rockets, 20 years apart. Japanese fashion tycoon Yusaku Maezawa announced in 2018 he was buying an entire flight so he could take eight or so others with him, preferably artists.

Tito is actually the second billionaire to make a Starship reservation for a flight around the moon. “I might be sitting in a rocking chair, not doing any good exercise, if it wasn’t for this mission.” “We have to keep healthy for as many years as it’s going to take for SpaceX to complete this vehicle,” Tito said in an interview this week with The Associated Press.

The couple recognize there’s a lot of testing and development still ahead for Starship, a shiny, bullet-shaped behemoth that’s yet to even attempt to reach space.

Tito won’t say how much he’s paying his Russian station flight cost $20 million. He’ll have company: his wife, Akiko, and 10 others willing to shell out big bucks for the ride. His weeklong moonshot - its date to be determined and years in the future - will bring him within 125 miles (200 kilometers) of the lunar far side. He isn’t interested in hopping on a 10-minute flight to the edge of space or repeating what he did 21 years ago. (AP) - The world’s first space tourist wants to go back - only this time, he’s signed up for a spin around the moon aboard Elon Musk’s Starship.įor Dennis Tito, 82, it’s a chance to relive the joy of his trip to the International Space Station, now that he’s retired with time on his hands.

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