On Monday, Elon Musk’s SpaceX announced that they will carry 4 civilians to the Earth’s orbit by the fourth quarter of this year.
Dubbed as ‘Inspiration4’ by SpaceX, it is the first commercial civilian mission to space. “The mission will be commanded by Jared Isaacman, the 37-year-old founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer,” the website of Inspiration4 stated. The multi-day mission will be launched from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A and travel across the low orbit of the Earth.
Jared Issacman will donate the remaining 3 seats to the general public. Reportedly, the names of those individuals will be announced in the upcoming weeks. Only a legal US resident is eligible for the mission. One can join the historic flight either by supporting either the fundraising goal St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (Generosity seat) or by starting a Shift4Shop and posting one’s inspirational business story on Twitter (Prosperityseat).
https://twitter.com/SpaceX/status/1356354009477439490?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“Inspiration4 will have four seats representing the mission pillars of Leadership, Hope, Generosity and Prosperity. You have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join this flight to space by securing either the Generosity or Prosperity seat,” the SpaceX mission emphasised. It further stated, ” Winner of each must be physically & psychologically fit for training and spaceflight, and must meet the requirements to be admitted into related government facilities.”
Details about the Inspiration4 mission
The mission will be carried out via Falcon 9, a reusable rocket designed to carry people to Earth’s orbit and beyond. It is also the first orbital-class reusable rocket in the world. The rocket will be topped by the Dragon Spacecraft, which is capable of flying up to 7 passengers to orbit and beyond. According to SpaceX, Dragon is the only spacecraft capable of returning a significant amount of cargo back to Earth.
Reportedly, the civilian crew chosen for the commercial space program will undergo training in orbital mechanics, stress testing, operating in zero gravity and microgravity. They will also be prepared for spacecraft and spacesuit ingress, partial and full mission simulations, and egress exercises. The journey will be monitored by SpaceX mission control. On completion of the mission, the spacecraft will land off the coast of Florida on its conclusion.