SpaceX's first ever all-civilian crew has returned to Earth after three days in space. Tonight, they will splash down off the Florida coast to finish a historic mission.
Tonight's splashdown of the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience in the Atlantic Ocean, near Florida is planned to complete the Inspiration4 mission. This private spaceflight was funded by a billionaire who launched four civilians into orbit earlier in the week. Splashdown is scheduled for 7:06 PM EDT (2306 GMT).
SpaceX's Inspiration4 splashdown can be viewed in the window above. It starts at 6 p.m. ET (2200 GMT). It can also be viewed on Youtube and SpaceX.
SpaceX's Inspiration4 private, all-civil orbital mission is live updated
SpaceX's all-civilian private mission, Inspiration4, is featured in photos
Jared Isaacman, Inspiration4 commander, said that "We know how lucky we are to have been up here," during a live broadcast to Earth on Friday (17 September). "We are giving our all to science research and a little ukulele playing and trying to raise awareness for an important cause back on Earth.
Isaacman, 37, is a tech entrepreneur and founder Shift4Payments. He bought the Inspiration4 flight with SpaceX to realize his lifelong dream to fly in space. He also used the flight to raise $200million to fund childhood cancer research and treatment at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. He donated three more seats to the cause, as well as $100 million of his personal funds.
Hayley Arceneaux (a 29-year-old childhood cancer survivor) was awarded one seat. She now works at St. Jude as a physician's aid. Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old survivor of childhood cancer, was the medical officer on the flight. She is also the first American to fly in space with a prosthetic leg. As part of fundraising online contests, Sian Proctor (51-year-old geoscientist from Arizona) and Chris Sembroski (42-year old data engineer and mission specialist), took the other two seats.
Image 1: The Inspiration4 crew of SpaceX placed a video call on Earth Sept. 17, 2021. This was the second day of their private orbital flight. From left to right: Hayley Arceneaux (right), Sian Proctor (left), Jared Isaacman (right), and Chris Sembroski. (Image credit SpaceX. Image 2 of 4. Sian Proctor displays art she created while orbiting Earth during her Inspiration4 mission. (Image credit SpaceX) Image 3 from 4 Hayley Arceneaux enjoys views from the custom-made cupola in Dragon Crew capsule. (Image credit to Inspiration4) Image 4: Jared Isaacman speaks while looking out of SpaceX's Crew Dragon cupola during SpaceX's Inspiration4 mission. Image credit: Inspiration4.
Arceneaux said to St. Jude patients that he was doing this for them during a video conference. "We are thinking of you so much, and I wanted to tell everyone that I was a little girl going though cancer treatment, just as many of you. You can do it if you're capable of doing this. I'm proud of every single one of you.
The Inspiration4 astronauts were launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket. They lifted off from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida. This pad is also used for SpaceX's Crew Dragon trips with NASA astronauts. Both the Falcon 9 rocket and its Crew Dragon Resilience have flown before. Private spaceflyers had months of training and wore the same sleek white flight suits as professional astronauts.
Inspiration4 flew independently, unlike past SpaceX crewed missions that flew to NASA's International Space Station, and flew its flight path higher than any SpaceX Dragon flight, at 363 miles (585 km) above Earth.
SpaceX replaced Inspiration4's docking port at its nose with a huge dome window. This cupola is the largest single window to fly in space.
Arceneaux stated that "We have spent so much time inside this cupola," in Friday's live-video. We can fit multiple crewmembers in the cupola and view the entire Earth from our heads. The views are amazing, I must say.
The Inspiration4 crew also conducted a series experiments to study the human body from space. They are also carrying a variety of items such as the Sembroski ukulele and Proctor's artwork that will be sold later to raise funds for St. Jude.
As part of their mission, they also rang the New York Stock Exchange closing bells on Friday. Isaacman placed his first bet from space (he chose the Philadelphia Eagles to win next Super Bowl). They ate cold pizza, pasta Bolognese and roasted edamame as well as Skittles, M&Ms, peanut butter cups, and Mediterranean lamb.
Isaacman said that while the mission was thrilling for all four crewmembers but also that it inspired them to chase their dreams in space and on Earth.
Isaacman stated that Inspiration4's mission is to inspire people to explore space. "But we also have our responsibilities back on Earth, and the top of our list right now it conquering childhood cancer. We support St. St. Jude's is our support."
Tariq Malik can be reached at tmalik@space.com, or on Twitter @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom on Facebook and Instagram.
