A bold new venture could again draw space tourists to the Space Coast, mirroring the days of the Apollo and space shuttle programs.

  • SpaceX plans to take 2 civilians on around-the-moon trips
  • Retired NASA worker: SpaceX moon mission will bring tourists back
  • RELATED: Space Coast launch schedule

The future of human spaceflight is almost here: SpaceX announced Monday that starting in 2018, it would send two civilians on a journey the country hasn't seen in almost 50 years.

The company's Dragon 2 capsule will be used in a weeklong flight around the moon and back after launching from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.

"It's one of the best ideas I've heard come along in a number of years," said Charlie Mars, a retired NASA worker from the Apollo days. Mars helps run Titusville's American Space Museum and Walk of Fame, a place dedicated to preserving the nation's space history.

He compares this new mission to the previous decades of manned spaceflight, such as the Apollo 8 liftoff, where people first went to the moon, orbited it and returned safely to Earth.

"I think you will see crowds here like Apollo," Mars said Tuesday.

During that time, tourists and Floridians alike lined the streets and the Indian River to watch the launches. Future human launches could mean a boon for area businesses as thousands return to the Space Coast to see history.

Space Florida chimed in on SpaceX's plans.


Charlie Mars, a retired NASA worker, now helps run the American Space Museum and Walk of Fame in Titusville. He's excited about SpaceX's recent announcement to send people on an around-the-moon mission. (News 13)

"Competition with the Russians got us the moon. Now, competition in the space community will get us back. ... SpaceX is the first, but others will follow, to drive innovation and schedule in the marketplace of exploration."

For Mars, it opens up the idea of space exploration to a new generation.

"You are going to see some of that same interest, same devotion, that we had in early Apollo," Mars said.

The SpaceX private crew flight around the moon and back is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018. In the meantime, the company is prepping for crewed missions to the International Space Station as part of a NASA contract. Those flights are set for late 2017 and into 2018.