SpaceX on Monday announced plans for the first civilian mission to space, a major milestone for private spacecraft and the burgeoning space tourism industry.
The mission aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft includes a four-person crew led by Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payment processing company. The flight, according to SpaceX, is expected to be launched sometime in the fourth quarter of this year.
“If you have a brand new means of transportation, you must have pioneers,” Elon Musk, founder and CEO of SpaceX, told Tom Costello, NBC News, in an interview with NBC Nightly News. “Things are expensive at first and because you can increase the launch rate, increase the production rate, refine the technology, it becomes cheaper and accessible to more people.”
Private citizens have flown into space before, but these space tourists usually paid to ride in orbit with trained NASA astronauts or Russian astronauts. Isaacman’s flight will be the first time a crew of private civilians has entered space. The crew members will receive training through SpaceX, including mission simulations for emergency preparedness and how to handle orbital mechanics during their flight.
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Isaacman said in a statement that the mission, called Inspiration4, is “the realization of a lifelong dream and a step towards a future in which everyone can venture and explore the stars.”
Anyone, that is, with millions of dollars to spend on the ride. SpaceX did not disclose how much Isaacman paid for the flight.
But Musk said he hopes these early joyrides will lay the groundwork for more space tourism in the future, beyond just billionaires who can afford the flights now.
“It’s like when America went to the moon in ’69 – it’s not just a few people, but humanity went to the moon, ” he said. “We all went there with them. And I think it’s something similar here. ‘
A civilian mission is a major step forward for the private space industry, but it also presents enormous challenges. Musk said SpaceX’s top priority is to maximize crew safety.
“Every mission where a crew is on board makes me nervous,” he said. “The risk is not zero.”
The expedition is part of a charity initiative to raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In addition to giving $ 100 million to St. Jude gave, Isaacman said he would donate the three other seats in the Dragon spacecraft to crew members who would be specially selected for the humanitarian flight.
“I appreciate this tremendous responsibility that comes with being commissioned on this mission and I want to use this historic moment to inspire humanity as I help end childhood cancer here on earth,” Isaacman said.
The Inspiration4 mission travels in an orbit aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX has been launching rockets from Launch Complex 39A since 2017, and the historic road was previously used for both spacecraft flights and Saturn V launches during NASA’s Apollo lunar program.
During the multi-day mission, the Dragon capsule will orbit the Earth once every 90 minutes around a modified flight path, according to SpaceX. At the end of the expedition, the spacecraft will re-enter the planet’s atmosphere and splash off the coast of Florida.
Isaacman, a trained pilot who has flown both commercial and military aircraft, will lead the historic mission. One seat on the flight is reserved for a St. Jude Ambassador, while a second seat will be offered to a member of the public during February as part of a charity ride.
For the final spot on the flight, Isaacman and Shift4 Payments will select an entrepreneur “who uses the new Shift4Shop eCommerce platform, which enables entrepreneurs to build and grow successful e-commerce businesses online,” the company said in ‘ a statement said. The competition started on Monday and lasts until February 28, with the winner selected by an independent judging panel.
According to Isaacman, the announcement of the Inspiration4 flight is ‘the first step of a very exciting journey’.
The first space tourist, the American multimillionaire Dennis Tito, launched in 2001 on an eight-day expedition to the International Space Station. Tito reportedly paid $ 20 million to fly to the outpost aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. Since then, only six other private citizens have flown into space, though the space tourism industry is soon on the rise as companies like Richard Bezos’ Blue Origins and Virgin Galactic of Richard Branson begin offering a runway later.
Last month, SpaceX also announced that the first crew of the private space station, led by former NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria, will launch to the orbital laboratory next January. Lopez-Alegria will be with three men, each paying $ 55 million to spend eight days at the space station.
In 2018, SpaceX said that Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa, founder and CEO of fashion retailer Zozo, would be the first private passenger to fly around the moon on a mission planned for 2023 somewhere. It is expected that Isaacman’s flight will not venture that far. , but Musk joked that SpaceX is open to other itineraries.
“That’s his mission,” Musk said. “He can go where he wants.”
