Elon Musk's SpaceX ushered in a new era of space exploration as the crew of Inspiration4, the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight mission to orbit, lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center today.
The Inspiration4 mission marks several historic milestones for human space exploration. They will be the first all-civilian crew to orbit Earth, the first free-flight Crew Dragon mission, and the first orbital human spaceflight mission that will not dock with a space station since the final Hubble mission on STS-125 in 2009.
The team of amateurs — which include billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman who self-funded the mission, cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, community college teacher Sian Proctor and Lockheed Martin employee Christopher Sembroski.
View from Dragon’s cupola pic.twitter.com/Z2qwKZR2lK
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2021
After an approximately three-day journey, the Inspiration4 team will reenter the Earth’s atmosphere for a soft water landing off the coast of Florida.
Since the mission's announcement in March 2021, the Inspiration4 crew has spent the past six months completing a wide range of training activities including centrifuge training, Dragon simulations, observations of other launch operations, Zero-G plane training, altitude training and additional classroom, simulation and medical testing.
This intensive, focused preparation was essential to helping four diverse strangers grow into their new roles as the first all-civilian astronaut crew to orbit earth.
The crew’s collective goal has not only been to fly to space but also make a significant contribution in the fight to cure childhood cancer. Started by an initial $100 million gift from Isaacman to St. Jude, Inspiration4 has a fundraising goal to raise $200 million through February 2022 to help accelerate research advancements and save more children worldwide.
Dragon and the @inspiration4x crew will orbit Earth for three days at an altitude of ~575 km, flying farther than any other human spaceflight since the Hubble missions pic.twitter.com/NZu2OM09zZ
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 15, 2021
"Our crew carries the responsibility and importance of this mission as we prepare to blast off," said Inspiration4 Commander Jared Isaacman just before launch. "We have been well-prepared for the challenges ahead of us the next three days and look forward to sharing our experience with the world as we continue to bring attention to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital here on earth."
To date, the mission has a commitment of more than $130 million with new auction items and ways to support being shared during and after the mission.
Inspiration4 is being monitored at every step by SpaceX mission control as the spacecraft orbits the planet every 90 minutes along a custom flight path. The crew is targeting an approximate 575 km orbit, flying farther than any human since Hubble, for an expected mission duration of approximately three days.
"The all-civilian Inspiration4 astronauts are paving the way for a future where space is more accessible to all who wish to go, and we are so proud that they entrusted us to fly them," said SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell.
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