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Who is Dennis Tito? Meet World’s First Space Tourist to Fly Around the Moon on Space X’s Starship

Dennis Tito is ready to fly to the moon! On Wednesday, Space X owned by the billionaire Elon Musk announced the names of the first space tourists who are set to fly around the moon on the company’s Starship rocket.

Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko who have been married for 2 years are set to ride Space X’s Starship rocket around the moon. Keep scrolling further to know more about Dennis Tito as well as his wife Akiko as they are set to fly around the moon.

Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko are set to fly around the moon on Space X’s Starship rocket

Dennis Tito and his wife Akiko are all pumped for a ride around the moon. According to the reports of CNBC, the two of them have bought seats for a private trip with Space X’s Starship rocket. Up until now, the cost of the tickets for the trip has not been disclosed by Tito.

The upcoming flight is going to be the third such spaceflight of Elon Musk’s Space X. As of this moment, the date of the trip has not been announced. It has been reported that the space voyage will last for almost 1 week. In that particular period, the rocket will come within 200 kilometers of the moon’s surface but it will not land there.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Tito went on to say, “I’ve been wanting to go to the moon since my first trip to space.” Dennis and his wife Akiko are the first members of the crew on Starship’s second commercial journey around the moon.

While making an appearance on CBS Mornings, Tito stated he and his wife Akiko are excited about the fun adventure. He said, “And here we were at SpaceX (recently) and they were interested in talking about a space flight. And I brought it up. And within a few minutes, we both were on board.”

In a separate interview, at Space X’s Starship development complex, Dennis said, “We will be able to watch the Earth get smaller, smaller and smaller, and the moon get larger, and larger and larger. We will then, upon emerging from the far side of the moon, see the Earth from a perspective only the Apollo astronauts have enjoyed to date.”

Elon Musk aims to use Space X’s Starship to transport people and goods to Moon and Mars

The main goal of Tesla CEO Elon Musk is to make use of Space X’s Starship to transport people and goods to the moon and Mars. Up until now, 2 tickets for the trip have been purchased, which means the lunar flight is “open for 10 others to sign up.”

SpaceX’s director of Starship crew and cargo programs, Aarti Matthews talked about the mission and said, “This mission is really groundbreaking in that it puts us on a very firm step towards airline-like operations, where now, for the first time, you can buy an individual seat to the moon.”

What does Dennis Tito do for a living?

For those of you who are unversed, let us tell you, Dennis Tito is an American engineer and entrepreneur by profession. He was born on August 8, 1940, in Queens, New York. In the midst of the year 2001, he became the first space tourist to pay for his own travel to the International Space Station while onboard Russia’s Soyuz TM-32 mission.

Dennis went to Forest Hills High School in New York City. He graduated from New York University with a Bachelor of Science in Astronautics and Aeronautics in the year 1962. Soon afterward, he received a Master of Science in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1964.

Throughout Tito’s time as an aeronautical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, he got a chance to witness the Mars Mariner 4 and 9 missions. In the early 1970s, he spent some time on space exploration.

Dennis Tito stepped into the field of finance in 1972

After a while, Dennis decided to switch and change his field. He went into the field of finance in the year 1972. At that point in time, he co-founded the American investment company Wilshire Associates which is located in Santa Monica, California.

In addition to this, Tito also developed the Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index in order to keep a track of the performance of the American stock market. He joined the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power Board of Commissioners in the 1990s and he led them in supporting the landmark 1994 state ruling to protect Mono Lake from excessive water diversions by the city.

Tito is well-known all over the world and he is considered the pioneer in the use of mathematical tools adapted from his experience in astronautics to the analysis of financial market risks. He is 82 years old at the moment.

During the 1990s, Dennis Tito got engaged with Moscow space agencies and at that point, he paid a whopping $20 million to go to the space station Mir in the year 2001. He began his training at the Yury Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, Russia in 2000.

Let us share with you, back in the day, Tito’s mission got canceled when Russia allowed the Mir space station to fall to Earth. Then, he decided to embark on a supply mission on April 28, 2001.

The name of the mission was Soyuz TM-32. Dennis went on the supply mission, Soyuz TM-32, to the International Space Station along with 2 Russian cosmonauts, commander Talgat Musabayev and flight engineer Yury Baturin (ISS).

What is the net worth of Dennis Tito?

As per the reports of Celebrity Net Worth, the estimated net worth of the space tourist Dennis Tito is somewhat around $1 billion. Did your jaw drop to the ground after learning about his net worth?

More information about the assets of the engineer-turned-financial analyst is not available on the internet. He has earned a large majority of his income from his work as an engineer and entrepreneur.

Would you like to fly to the moon someday? Kindly let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Don’t forget to stay tuned with us for the latest updates from the world of showbiz.

Meenal Mehta
Hi, I am Meenal. I'm a travel enthusiast, a movie buff and a cricket fan all wrapped in one. I love to capture moments through my words. Writing is my happy space, it has been a great way of putting all my thoughts out and feel liberated.
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