SpaceX launched four private citizens into space on Wednesday, launching the first manned mission to orbit without any professional astronaut on board. Nicknamed Inspiration4, the mission marks the last private foray into space, as companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX compete to standardize space travel to pay for tourists, not just government astronauts.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off in time at 20:02 ET from the company’s 39A launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, leaving the east coast of Florida under a clear sky. Inside the capsule is billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman, a trained pilot and founder of the payment processing company Shift4 Payments, and three others he chose and paid to ride with him: Hayley Arceneaux, a medical assistant at 29 years old and cancer survivor; Christopher Sembroki, Lockheed Martin data engineer; and Sian Proctor, a geoscientist and former NASA astronaut candidate.
The crew was tilted inside the Dragon of the SpaceX crew Resilience capsule at the top of the rocket, reusing the spacecraft that sent four government astronauts to the International Space Station almost a year ago. But for Inspiration4, the capsule will not approach the space station. It is about to spend about three days orbiting the Earth at a higher altitude, about 360 miles above the ground, the farthest human flight since NASA’s last space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble telescope. in 2009.
About nine minutes after takeoff, the first Falcon 9 reinforcement returned to Earth to land on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean. Minutes later, the crew’s dragon capsule separated from the second stage of the rocket as it exited the Earth’s atmosphere and sent the Inspiration4 crew into orbit. The capsule will spend the next hour and a half gradually ascending its orbit by intermittent firing of the propellant.
“The Dragon’s capsule and crew are in a nominal orbit,” said Andy Tran, a SpaceX engineer and live broadcast presenter. A live camera from inside the capsule showed the crew making a gesture with two thumbs up.
SpaceX
The mission serves as a multi-million dollar fundraiser for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Jude, a non-profit research center that also offers free care to children with cancer. Isaacman donated $ 100 million to the hospital and, with the Inspiration4 mission, aims to raise $ 100 million more. This portion of the fundraiser has raised about $ 30.8 million so far. Isaacman, who funds most of the mission, will not say how much he paid for each seat of Crew Dragon, but it typically costs about $ 55 million per person, according to a government watchdog report.
The Inspiration4 Crew Dragon capsule was adapted for a more touristy experience than NASA astronauts have on their trips to the ISS. Months before the mission, SpaceX installed a huge glass dome, where the capsule station dock is usually located, to give Inspiration4 passengers a 360-degree view of space. Degrees while in orbit. Although the glass dome has not been tested in space, SpaceX crew mission director Benji Reed said it underwent a rigorous testing and rating process before validating it. as safe for flight.
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The crew has some activities planned during their stay in orbit: Sembroki is expected to play a ukulele made by Martin Guitar that is kept on board as one of the various sponsorships leading to the mission. Proctor brought poetry and personal art. And the entire crew is participating in a study on the effects that microgravity has on the human body. SpaceX, Baylor College of Medicine’s Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) and Weill Cornell Medicine researchers will collect biological samples from passengers before the mission and plan to collect biomedical data from passengers during the mission.
Exactly where and when the capsule returns to Earth’s atmosphere after its three-day mission depends on the weather conditions around the Florida coast. The capsule can spend up to a week in orbit if needed, Isaacman said.
Update 20:45 ET: Updated with photos and additional information from SpaceX’s live stream.