Private Company Cleared for 2017 Moon Mission

[GhostZ06]

It is not the technology or even the money that has most concerned Moon Express chief executive Bob Richards about getting a spacecraft to the lunar surface before the end of next year. It was getting U.S. permission to leave the ground, a thorny proposition since no federal agency is in charge of spaceflight beyond Earth's orbit.

But in an unprecedented move, agencies including the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and the departments of Defense, State and Commerce, have formally given their approval for the Moon Express mission, the FAA said Wednesday.
"The FAA has determined that the launch of the payload does not jeopardize public health and safety, safety of property, U.S. national security or foreign policy interests, or international obligations of the United States. As long as none of the information provided to the FAA changes in a material manner and the FAA does not become aware of any issues the review did not consider that could affect the determination, the FAA considers this determination final," the agency said.
The clearance is a temporary and one-time solution to bridge the legal and regulatory quagmire facing Moon Express, which plans to land a suitcase-sized spacecraft called the MX-1E on the lunar surface in time to win the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.

But the FAA's decision sets a precedent for other X Prize contenders and commercial space expeditions, including SpaceX's planned 2018 mission to Mars.

http://www.seeker.com/company-cleared-for-flight-to-the-moon-1957623689.html

so this could get really interesting

 

[JDragon]

I'll believe it when I see it. But more power to them.

You make great threads btw.

 

[Leroy Jenkins]

Good....Now we the NASA budget to go up and explore the universe then have private companies follow them.

 

[Lord Coke]

I hope it happens

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

privatization of space is the new trend.

word is even NASA is going to ditch Orion and give DragonX the funding.

Not to mention talks about privatizing the ISS.

The first people on Mars will be corporate funded personnel

 

[ripskater]

I don't think it will happen.

 

[Undying Poster]

What resources does the moon have? I read on space.com that the objectives are testing out the performance of the spacecraft, winning the 30 million Google prize, and also to help exploit resources on the moon.

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

I don't think it will happen.

riveting analysis, Rip

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

What resources does the moon have? I read on space.com that the objectives are testing out the performance of the spacecraft, winning the 30 million Google prize, and also to help exploit resources on the moon.

tons of Helium3 (something we are running out of on earth)

and REM 's used for modern communication devices

Thorium - for potentially cleaner and safer energy

 

[panamaican]

What a time to be alive.

Barely 100 years ago we couldn't even fly and now private companies are trying to get to the moon.

 

[Lord Coke]

What a time to be alive.

Barely 100 years ago we couldn't even fly and now private companies are trying to get to the moon.

Frankly I think it is a national embarrassment that we need to pay the Russians to get to space. Anything that gets us back into space exploration the better.

 

[THE BOSS]

I'll be impressed when they send another manned mission.

 

[Sakuraba808]

I bet liberals will ruin this project if they find out there aren't Womyn on the mission.

 

[THE BOSS]

I bet liberals will ruin this project if they find out there aren't Womyn on the mission.

and an equal amount of blacks.

 

[Slippery Kantus]

Just wait until @Scyther hears about this...

 

[JudoThrowFiasco]

Frankly I think it is a national embarrassment that we need to pay the Russians to get to space. Anything that gets us back into space exploration the better.

why? Foreigners run the market on taxis services.

Soyuz is cheap and only has to go 400 miles

 

[Scyther]

Fake moon mission here we come.

 

[Scyther]

I'll be impressed when they send another manned mission.

They never sent 1. The moon landing is a hoax.

 

[THE BOSS]

They never sent 1. The moon landing is a hoax.

That's my point.

 

[Scyther]

That's my point.

Ah nice. Would you like to learn about the greatest deception in human history?