Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux and Chris Sembroski pose in front their SpaceX launchpad, Complex 39A, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Monday, March 29, 2021.
CAPE CANAVERAL (Fla.) SpaceX's first all-civilian launch has been officially declared "go"
"#Inspiration4 & @SpaceX have completed their flight readiness review and are on track for launch!" The Inspiration4 mission team tweeted Friday, September 3rd.
Inspiration4, the mission, will launch from NASA's Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Four private citizens will join a Crew Dragon spacecraft to embark on a three-day trip around the Earth.
Related: SpaceX displays its large dome window on Dragon, which it uses for private Inspiration4 spaceflight
Jared Issacman (billionaire founder of Shift4 Payments), purchased the plane as part of an effort raise millions for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Haley Arceneaux and Sian Proctor are also present.
Arceneaux was a child bone cancer survivor who is now a St. Jude physician's assistant. Proctor and Sembroski were chosen as part of a global competition for a flight on the flight.
This group has spent the past few months training for their flight. SpaceX and Inspiration4 both officially approved the flight on Friday, Sept. 3.
Related: SpaceX's private Inspiration4 crew experiences zero gravity for the first time
This artist's visualization shows SpaceX's Crew Dragon modified with a cupola observation windows for the upcoming Inspiration4 mission. SpaceX image credit
The Dragon crew capsule and Falcon 9 rocket were both previously flown and have been cleared for flight after the launch pad teams reviewed all systems and ground support data.
Space.com received a statement from Inspiration4 officials stating that liftoff is scheduled for Sept. 15 with an alternate launch date of Sept. 16.
Only a few days prior to launch, the exact liftoff time will have been determined. The team will reduce the 24-hour launch window to just five hours three days before liftoff by taking into consideration weather conditions at launch site, flight trajectory, and potential landing sites off Florida's coast.
The crew will orbit the Earth for three more days, before splashing down into the Atlantic ocean. The docking port of the Dragon was removed to make sure that it does not touch the International Space Station as the previous Crew Dragon missions did. Instead, the dome window was installed.
Hayley Arceneaux, Inspiration4's astronaut, tests SpaceX's new cupola windows for its Crew Dragon spacecraft. Image credit: Inspiration
According to the Inspiration4 team, the window was inspired by the Cupola at the International Space Station and will offer crew incredible views of Earth.
Kennedy Space Center will receive Issacman and Proctor on Sept. 9, just ahead of their scheduled launch.
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