Inspiration4 Mission and Space Tourism

Inspiration4 mission: SpaceX’s first civilian mission gets an open ticket to visit space on the 15th of September 2021. Here is everything you need to know about this civilian space expedition. 

Who Owns SpaceX and Inspiration4?

SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk, who is also the proud owner of Tesla. The aerospace company has launched around 127 rockets under the Falcon 9 family in the past 11 years. Out of which, 125 were successful missions, and 1 was partially successful. The current Inspiration4 mission uses a Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon- Resilience rested atop. 

Both these spacecraft have flown before, and SpaceX has replaced the docking port with a dome window to allow the passengers a scenic view of space. 

When Will Inspiration4 Launch?

Inspiration4 will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. They have a 24 hours launch window on Pad39A scheduled after 8 p.m EDT on the 15th of September 2021 (8.02 p.m EDT is decided given the weather forecast). They will not be going to the International Space Station, which is 420 km away from earth. Pad39A is the same place from where Neil Armstrong and crew were launched into space.

How Long Will Inspiration4 Stay in Space?

The civilian space expedition is currently scheduled to last 3 days, with an ocean landing near the coast of Florida. The crew which has not gone through any rigorous training will monitor their health and conduct experiments. They will find out how an average human can survive space tourism. 

Inspiration4 Crew Members

Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson had recently toured space in their very own rockets but not without a NASA-level astronaut on their crew. The latest Elon Musk project is all set to launch four civilians without a professional astronaut into space.

#Jared Isaacman: He is the owner of Shift4 Payments and the mission commander. Jared bought the trip and donated the remaining seats to the rest. Isaacman is an accomplished pilot and a billionaire aged 37 who donated $100 million to St.Jude.

# Hayley Arceneaux: She is a cancer survivor from St.Jude’s Childrens’ hospital and will serve as the crew’s medical officer. Arceneaux suffered pediatric bone cancer and will be the first person to visit space with a prosthesis. 

#Sian Proctor: The science communicator and geoscience professor from Arizona is the mission pilot. Proctor currently teaches at the South Mountain Community college after being rejected by NASA. Her father was part of NASA’s mission that sent the first humans to the moon. 

#Chris Sembroski: The ex-space camp counselor and AirForce veteran will be the mission specialist. Sembroski works for Lockheed Martin, a giant aerospace company.

Inspiration 4 SpaceX Competition

Proctor secured a seat after her extensive campaign to attract donations to the St.Jude Hospital made her win the Inspiration4 fundraising competition. Sembroski got the chance after his friend donated $13 million to the fundraising campaign arranged by St.Jude and refused to go.

St Jude Inspiration 4 Cost

The principal aim of the Inspiration4 mission is to raise funds for St.Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee. The trip costs around $200 million, and here is what the crew is taking with them:

Sembroski will play a Martin guitar Ukulele, jackets bedazzled or painted by patients at the St.Jude hospital, coins made from Apollo 11, and a Fisher space pen set from the same flight. They will also be taking an NFT (Non-fungible Token), a replica of the artwork taken to the Mariana Trench, making it the only piece of artwork in the world to visit the ocean in the space. 

Apart from that, Arceneaux will play an unreleased NFT by Kings of Leon. These articles will be auctioned off later, and the funds will be donated to the hospital.