Thu 16 September 2021:
On Wednesday, a SpaceX rocket ship launched from Florida, carrying a billionaire e-commerce businessman and three less wealthy private people who he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit.
The four amateur astronauts, headed by Jared Isaacman, the American founder and CEO of financial services startup Shift4 Payments Inc, took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral shortly before dusk, and the spaceship rocketed into the darkening skies.
Dragon has separated from Falcon 9’s second stage pic.twitter.com/pOfgJ9LsvE
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2021
Isaacman, 38, and his crewmates — Sian Proctor, 51, Hayley Arceneaux, 29, and Chris Sembroski, 42 — were seen strapped into the pressurized cabin of their gleaming white SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed Resilience, in their helmeted black-and-white flight suits, according to a SpaceX webcast of the launch. The capsule soared into the Florida sky perched atop one of the company’s reusable two-stage Falcon 9 rockets, earning thumbs up.
At just after 8 p.m. local time in Cape Canaveral, Florida on a warm, clear night, a rocket dubbed Falcon 9 blasted off, carrying the Crew Dragon Capsule, which will be home for the two men and two women for the next three days.
The crew of #Inspiration4 is go for launch. pic.twitter.com/xou4rJJnjp
— Inspiration4 (@inspiration4x) September 15, 2021
“You are truly inspiring the world,” came the word from SpaceX mission control as the rocket blasted off. “Good luck, Godspeed and enjoy the ride.”
By 12 minutes into the ride, the capsule reached the boundary of space, drawing a big cheer from mission control. The capsule is heading to an orbital altitude of 575 kilometers (357 miles) above Earth, which is beyond the orbit of the International Space Station.
The mission, called “Inspiration4” is notable for several reasons. Unlike the space flights led by billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos in July, considered the first of their kind, Musk himself is not aboard the Crew Dragon.
Liftoff of @Inspiration4X! Go Falcon 9! Go Dragon! pic.twitter.com/NhRXkD4IWg
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2021
The four crew members have been undergoing intense space training since March, and while they are in space, their health will be continuously monitored.
Isaacman has paid an undisclosed sum to fellow billionaire Musk to send himself and his three crewmates aloft. Time magazine has put the ticket price for all four seats at $200 million. The mission, called Inspiration4, was conceived by Isaacman mainly to raise awareness and support for one of his favorite causes, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a leading pediatric cancer center in Memphis, Tennessee.
Musk has talked about his desire to eventually colonize Mars, and he, like Branson and Bezos, hopes to use such flights to eventually make space tourism available for the masses.
Prior to liftoff, the four crew members talked at length about their favorite space movies: “Star Trek” or “Star Wars.” After liftoff, one of them could be seen making the “live long and prosper” hand gesture from “Star Trek.”
Rival companies Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc and Blue Origin launched their own private-astronaut services this summer, with billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos as their respective founding leaders. Those suborbital missions, which lasted only a few minutes, were insignificant in comparison to Inspiration4’s spaceflight profile.
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