The private space arena has exploded in recent years, accomplishing things that were once the purview of nations. Now, one of these firms has made an announcement that it is working to send commercial customers to the Moon. The Golden Spike Company has stated that, for the hefty sum of $1.5 billion, it will send a crew to our nearest celestial neighbor.
The two-year-old company made the announcement on the eve of the 40th anniversary of NASA’s last manned flight to the Moon—Apollo 17. According to the Golden Spike Company, they will accomplish this using existing launch vehicles and by the end of the decade—less than eight years.
A number of new space firms have made equally lofty claims only to fall well short or go bankrupt. This is the reason why so many were initially hesitant when Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) entered the scene. SpaceX gained credibility by successfully demonstrating their capabilities.
It took NASA eight years, $110 billion dollars, and an engineering team of 400,000 skilled workers to land men on the Moon. Given this, many experts have treated Golden Spike’s claims with skepticism.
The company touts an array of officials and advisors that include New Horizons’ Principal Investigator, Dr. Alan Stern PhD, and Gerry Griffin, who was a flight controller during the Apollo era.
The Golden Spike Company is based in the US and was incorporated in 2010. The firm’s name stems from the ceremonial spike used in the United States’ first transcontinental railroad.
Missions » Apollo »