Frank Sinatra once crooned, "Fly me to the moon. Let me play among the stars," and for two companies, including one here in Texas, SpaceX granted that wish.

SpaceX has launched a pair of lunar landers for US and Japanese companies looking to jumpstart business up there.

The SpaceX rocket took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:11 a.m. ET. Tucked inside the rocket’s bullet-shaped nose cone were the two lunar landers — hailing from two different countries. The first is Blue Ghost, a 6.6-foot-tall (2-meter-tall) lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace, a Cedar Park, Texas-based company.

Firefly's Blue Ghost lunar lander has launched from Kennedy Space Center Pad 39A, and is on a 45-day journey to the moon for NASA.

After a comprehensive 11-month testing stint in Ohio, the Artemis I Orion crew module, now the Orion ETA, is back at Kennedy Space Center for further testing and modifications. These tests aim to refine the spacecraft’s reaction control system and acoustic properties,

The two landers are expected to touch down on the surface of the moon in two and four months respectively. View on euronews

SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a pair of lunar landers into space early Wednesday, sending Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost and ispace's Resilience on their lengthy journeys to the moon.

One rocket, two missions: lunar landers built by US and Japanese companies launched their "rideshare" to the Moon on Wednesday, showcasing the private sector's growing role in space exploration.

Tucked inside the rocket’s bullet-shaped nose cone were the two lunar landers — hailing from two different countries. The first is Blue Ghost, a 6.6-foot-tall (2-meter-tall) lunar lander developed by Firefly Aerospace, a Cedar Park, Texas-based company.

Two moon landers, one from Japan's ispace and another from U.S. space firm Firefly, began their journeys into space on Wednesday with SpaceX's unusual double moonshot launch, underscoring the global rush to examine the lunar surface.

Lunar landers built by US and Japanese companies are poised to "rideshare" to the moon, showcasing the private sector's growing role in space exploration.