SpaceX has successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket to the moon carrying to lunar lander of the private companies.
According to CNN, SpaceX Falcon 9 took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 01:09 local time (06:09 GMT) on Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
The rocket is carrying two lunar landers Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and Resilience built by private companies in the US and Japan.
The landers will eventually get separated from the rocket and will conduct independent exploration missions once they reach the orbit of the moon.
Firefly's rover, Blue Ghost, a 6.6-foot-tall (2-meter-tall) lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace, a Cedar Park, Texas-based company, would take around 45 days to reach the Moon after getting separated from the Falcon 9 while ispace's Resilence lander will take up to five months to reach the lunar surface.
Firefly Aerospace CEO Jason Kim told CNN in December 2024, “It’s a good time for the lunar economy. (I am) 100% confident in our team’s ability.”
