London, September 15 (HNA) – SpaceX is planning to launch four people on a three-day trip in space, the company announced on its website.
This mission, dubbed Inspiration4, is the first orbital mission in the history of spaceflight to be staffed entirely by tourists or otherwise non-astronauts, the company said in a statement and added:
“SpaceX is targeting a five-hour launch window on Wednesday, September 15, opening at 8:02 p.m. EDT (Thursday, September 16 at 00:02 UTC) for the launch of the Inspiration4 mission – the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit – aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Approximately three days after liftoff, Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew will return to Earth and splashdown at one of several possible landing sites off the Florida coast.”
SpaceX’s webcast for the launch of the Inspiration4 mission will go live ~4 hours before liftoff, according to the statement.
“Inspiration4 is commanded by Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer. Joining him are Medical Officer Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and pediatric cancer survivor; Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran and aerospace data engineer; and Mission Pilot Dr Sian Proctor, a geoscientist, entrepreneur, and trained pilot” read the statement.
The three-day journey would see the quartet free-flying through Earth’s orbit, whipping around the planet once every 90 minutes while the passengers float, buoyed by microgravity, and take in panoramic views of the earth.