SpaceX to launch first ‘all-civilian’ spaceflight by Sep 15

On September 15, SpaceX will launch Inspiration4, its “historic first all-civilian human spaceflight mission,” into orbit.

The mission team announced on Twitter that SpaceX and Inspiration4 had passed a flight readiness review and were on schedule for launch. The project will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida’s Launch Complex 39A.

A four-person crew will board a Crew Dragon Spacecraft and embark on a three-day trip around the Earth.

Billionaire Jared Issacman, the creator of Shift4 Payment, was named as the commander of the charity-driven mission by SpaceX in February.

Trip Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission Pilot Dr Sian Proctor, Medical Officer Hayley Arceneaux, and Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski will arrive in Florida on Thursday to complete final preparations for their mission.

A few days before the launch, the exact time for the liftoff will be decided. The crew will reduce the 24-hour launch window to five hours, taking into account weather conditions at the launch site, the flight trajectory, and potential emergency landing sites off the Florida coast, according to a news release.

The astronauts will circle the Earth every 90 minutes once in orbit, following a unique flight route.

The Dragon will remain free-flying in orbit and will not dock with the International Space Station, as has been the case with previous Crew Dragon flights. As a result, the capsule’s docking port has been removed and replaced with a dome window inspired by the ISS’s Cupola.

The crew will be able to see magnificent vistas of Earth via the window. The Crew Dragon Capsule will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere after completing the three-day mission for a gentle landing on water off the coast of Florida.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Issacman bought the plane as part of a fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The team hopes to deliver a humanitarian message of potential while also symbolising a new era in human spaceflight and exploration with this mission.

Also read | NASA detects 1000th asteroid to come close to Earth