By Joey Roulette and Kantaro Komiya ORLANDO, Florida/TOKYO (Reuters) -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,

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.

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.

The mission, named Ghost Riders in the Sky, launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, at 1:11 a.m. ET. Blue Ghost separated from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at 2:17 a.m. ET and established communications with Firefly's Mission Operations Center in Cedar Park, Texas, at 2:26 a.m. ET.

The lander of Texas-based rocket and spacecraft builder Firefly Aerospace has begun a 45-day trip to the moon.

A SpaceX mission set to lift off overnight marks a first for Firefly Aerospace under NASA's plans to build up American companies to support its lunar goals.

SpaceX has launched a pair of lunar landers for U.S. and Japanese companies aiming to expand business on the moon. Texas-based Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost will arrive first, conducting NASA experiments.

By Joey Roulette and Kantaro Komiya ORLANDO, Florida/TOKYO (Reuters) -Two moon landers, one from Japan's ispace and another from U.S. space firm Firefly, lifted off on Wednesday from Florida on a SpaceX rocket in an unusual double moonshot launch,

The spacecraft built and operated by Texas-based Firefly Aerospace launched in the early Monday hours from Florida aboard a SpaceX rocket.

Firefly Aerospace, the leader in end-to-end responsive space services, today announced Firefly’s Blue Ghost lunar lander launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, successfully acquired signal, and completed on-orbit commissioning.