A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket whisked Inspiration4, the first all-civilian space crew, into Earth orbit on Wednesday. This marks the very first privately funded, non-government trip to orbit, or more specifically, a three-day flight devoted to raising $200-million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition to billionaire Jared Isaacman, who chartered the mission, the crew consisted of Chris Sembroski, an aerospace engineer; Sian Proctor, an artist-educator; and Hayley Arceneaux, a St. Jude cancer survivor who is now employed at the hospital. Read more for two videos and additional information.
The Falcon 9’s first stage engines officially ignited at 8:02 p.m. EDT, illuminating the early evening sky as the booster rocketed away using 1.7 million pounds of thrust from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. After 9.5-minutes, the second stage and the Crew Dragon capsule made it to the planned preliminary orbit, although two rocket firings were required to circularize the orbit at an altitude of 357 miles.
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We gave you a great ride to orbit. Enjoy your time on orbit, and we look forward to you flying again with SpaceX,” said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA’s former chief of space operations and now a senior SpaceX manager.
