SpaceX launch is first to send civilian crew to orbit Earth

Space tourism is becoming more and more actualized in 2021. With billionaires like Richard Branson showing off his trip on the Virgin Galactic in July, shortly followed by Jeff Bezos’ flight in the Blue Origin’s capsule, has made 2021 historic. This week, another group of civilians made their way into space, as Elon Musk’s SpaceX launched its first mission — Inspiration4.

The SpaceX flight has broken another barrier for space tourists, sending four civilians further than any human has flown from Earth since NASA’s Apollo moon program ended in 1972. The group will orbit Earth in the Dragon capsule (dubbed Resilience) at an altitude of 357 miles (575km) for three days, traveling higher than the International Space Station and 22 times the speed of sound, according to Reuters.

Pics from liftoff of the @Inspiration4x mission pic.twitter.com/Vt8EACSLZK

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 16, 2021

Jared Isaacman, 38, titled as “commander” for this flight and is now the third billionaire to make it to space. Isaacman is joined by Hayley Arceneaux, 29, “chief medical officer,” is a childhood cancer survivor who is now a physician assistant at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, for which Isaacman has pledged $100 million and is now seeking to match the money in donations through the Inspiration4. She is now the youngest person ever to orbit Earth.

“Specialist” Chris Sembroski, 42, and retired astronaut candidate and “pilot” Sian Proctor, 51, were the winners of the SpaceX sweepstakes that promised to send two lucky winners to space in February of this year. But the truth is these titles don’t mean much since the Inspiration4 crew onboard is playing no part in flying the aircraft. The capsule is being operated on Earth with a grounds crew. Tickets for the entire crew were paid for by Issacman, which were estimated to be $55 million a head, according to Insider.

More pics from the @Inspiration4x crew walkout pic.twitter.com/OpRY6dj7oh

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 15, 2021

For five months, the crew prepared, working on altitude fitness, centrifuge (G-force), microgravity and simulator training, emergency drills, classroom work, and medical exams. The crew will help conduct zero-gravity medical experiments, including taking blood samples, conducting ultrasound scans, and sampling their personal biomes. NASA, which was first hesitant about Space tourism, is now in full support.

“To me, the more people involved in it, whether private or government, the better,” said the Nasa astronaut Shane Kimbrough, who is currently staying at the International Space Station.

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