Elon Musk's space exploration company SpaceX has made history by launching a spacecraft with a non-professional crew on Wednesday (15/9/2021). The spacecraft, named Inspiration4, will spend three days in space orbiting the earth.

This is the first record of success for a company offering private tours to space. The rocket launch took place at Complex 39A Nasa Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States. It was witnessed by hundreds of visitors who saw this historic flight.

Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payment, became the person who sponsored this flight, Isaacman who is also a pilot, became the flight commander. Along with Isaacman was Hayley Arceneaux, an assistant physician from St. Children's Research Hospital. Jude, geoscientist Dr Sian Proctor and data engineer Chris Sembroski, a United States Air Force veteran and donor at St. Jude.

The four represent the pillars that support St. Jude Children Research Hospital, leadership, hope, Generosity and Prosperity. Arceneaux represents hope, is a bone cancer survivor who was treated as a child at St. Jude. He became the first person with a prosthetic leg to go into space. On this trip, Arceneaux was appointed chief medical officer.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sembroski represents Generosity, is a data engineer for Lockheed Martin. He is a fan of space travel and also a veteran of the United States Air Force. Sembroski won Isaacman's raffle in a fundraiser for St. Jude. He was appointed as a mission specialist.

Proctor represents Prosperity, is a communications scientist and geoscientist who has been on four space missions. He owns the Space2Inspire store, which later became the winner of Isaacman's Shift4Shop. He will be the first person from Guam to go into space and serve as a mission pilot.

The original idea for this flight came from Isaacman, who made the trip part of a fundraising campaign for children at the hospital. The target is $200 million, but Isaacman didn't reveal how much he paid SpaceX for this mission.

This flight, which carries a mission of diversity in human life, is the third this year in a space tourism competition by billionaires. Some time ago, there were Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos. They also launched a vehicle into Earth orbit as a form of space tourism.

The crew, who were not astronauts, boarded the Crew Dragon ride. These space-going passengers receive basic training to know what they will encounter in space.

 

 

 

 

 

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"Teams selected the five-hour launch window based upon weather forecasts for the launch site, along the ascent corridor, and possible landing locations off the coasts of Florida for a safe return of the crew and splashdown a few days later," Inspiration4 mission officials wrote.

Launch times are typically subject to space traffic and the weather at both the launching site and any emergency sites nearby. Like other Crew Dragon launches, Inspiration4 will go to space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. But while other Crew Dragons have flown to the International Space Station, the Inspiration4 mission will not rendezvous with another spacecraft on this orbital mission.

In the end, weather conditions were pristine for launch, increasing from a 70% chance of good weather to 90% by launch time.

This space mission has a goal that inspires everyone. Inspiration4 will pass through space past more than 90 percent of the world's population. The crew will try to research what it takes to live and survive in outer space. The goal is to break through the space boundaries that have been a barrier to space research.

 

 

 

 

 

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Later the spacecraft will return to earth after three days. The Crew Dragon will be directed to fall into the Florida ocean so that the crew and research samples can return to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Inspiration4 will not join the International Space Station, so it is simple. It does not require docking to connect to other vehicles. There is a large window that is used to enjoy the view of outer space.

This Crew Dragon flight is like an ordinary space flight, which uses a rocket with the crew in the vehicle attached to the rocket. A different way is operated by Virgin Galactic. The plane holds the spacecraft and then releases it to enter a certain altitude.

It's interesting to see the results that the crew of SpaceX brought this time from a three-day flight in Earth orbit. Hopefully, the return process of these space tourists can be successful.