SpaceX ended this weekend its first tourist mission to space. Carrying 4 people in a Dragon Crew capsule, the mission My Inspiration4 spent three days in Earth's orbit, accumulating another record.
Despite having no official astronauts, the Inspiration4 mission was led by Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments as well as an accomplished pilot and adventurer.
ing him are Medical Officer Hayley Arceneaux, attending physician at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and cancer survivor; Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran and aerospace data engineer; and mission pilot Dr. Sian Proctor, geoscientist, entrepreneur and trained pilot.
This was also the first SpaceX mission without a NASA astronaut on board, just months after it began transporting humans into space.
On Saturday, the Dragon capsule, commanded from Earth, began a series of maneuvers to re-enter Earth, leaving its orbit 575 km from the surface in a few minutes for a controlled landing at sea using four parachutes.
The landing was carried out near the coast of Florida. All crew were rescued within minutes by a SpaceX team. The capsule was also rescued to be used in future missions.
The Inspiration4 crew did not participate in piloting the spacecraft, which was controlled by SpaceX ground crews and onboard guidance systems, although Isaacman and Proctor are both SpaceX licensed and trained pilots.
Only two issues arose during the mission, one involving the "bathroom" of the aircraft and another a temperature sensor of the capsule's engine, in neither case did the crew act to resolve.
Record of people in orbit
In addition to being SpaceX's first tourist flight, which far sured the achievements of Virgin Galatic and Blue Origin, the 4 orbiting tourists also collaborated to reach the maximum number of humans in Earth's orbit.
On Friday (17) a total of 14 people were in orbit for a few days last week. Seven astronauts and cosmonauts were on the International Space Station (ISS), three Taikonauts were on the new Chinese space station Tiangong-3 and four space tourists in orbit in SpaceX's Dragon Crew capsule.
Look at our Mission Specialist @ChrisSembroski capturing pictures from orbit through Dragon's cupola!
We can't wait to see the crew's photos and how they will inspire the world to look up to the stars. pic.twitter.com/r7jIFb50rT
- Inspiration4 (@ inspiration4x) September 18, 2021
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The previously recorded record was 13 humans simultaneously in orbit, when the Space Shuttle was still living with the MIR in 1995, the former space station built during the Soviet Union and at the time used in partnership with other countries. The same record was repeated in 2009, with the current Space Station.
Fun time in space
With absolute silence from space, in a comfortable but small-sized capsule, tourists resorted to with Earth, even in such a distant situation.
Os “astronauts” spent much of their first 48 hours in the air chatting about space, including phone calls to family, friends and ers like Musk and Hollywood star Tom Cruise.
They also appeared via video link at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday to participate in the closing bell ringing. Friday's orbital appearance aboard the Crew Dragon capsule was streamed live on SpaceX's YouTube channel.
Logically, Elon Musk intends to open the company's capital soon, despite deviating from the subject.
The Inspiration4 mission is part of Jared Isaacman's ambitious fundraising goal to give hope to every child with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. visit the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to learn how you can help the Inspiration4 team reach their fundraising goal of $200 million.
