SpaceX books its first passenger to fly around the moon

Although SpaceX has a number of successful launches to its name, it’s still yet to reach that ultimate goal of sending a human to space.

As per a tweet on Thursday, the company has signed its first private passenger to fly on its BFR launch vehicle, in what would be “an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space.”

The BFR, which Elon Musk said can carry up to 100 people when it was first touted last year, will fly around the moon as part of the personal trip. 

No details have been revealed about who the passenger is and why they’re flying, but SpaceX said it would reveal all on Monday.

Musk left a clue possibly regarding the flyer’s nationality, tweeting the flag of Japan when asked if it was him that would be going on the trip. He also revealed in another tweet that the rendering of the BFR spacecraft was new.

In June, it was revealed by the Wall Street Journal that SpaceX wouldn’t be sending a couple around the moon on its Dragon spacecraft later this year, a promise that was touted in early-2017.

While SpaceX is still planning to take the two tourists, who paid a “significant deposit” for the opportunity, the trip will be “postponed until at least mid-2019 and likely longer.”

Earlier this year, Musk said the company would be able to focus its investment on the BFR, following the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy. 

The 31-engine BFR is part of the company’s grand plan for travelling between planets, and will replace its current suite of rockets like the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.