Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO, poses with crew members before launch on September 15, 2021.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk contributed to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital fundraising goal for the Inspiration4 spaceflight. This was just hours after the crew returned from orbit.
The Inspiration4 mission had two main goals. It launched Wednesday and ended on Saturday.
Jared Isaacman (Inspiration4 commander), a billionaire entrepreneur who bought the flight from SpaceX donated $100 million to St. Jude. After the Inspiration4 mission raised $60.2 million more in donations, Musk pledged $50 million to help bring the total to $210 million.
Musk tweeted, "Count me in for $50M," on Saturday.
Three days of space travel was required for the historic Inspiration4 mission. It carried Isaacman, Sian Proctor, Hayley Arceneaux, and Chris Sembroski, a mission specialist. The crew orbited Earth at 590 km, which was above the International Space Station. This is the highest altitude humans have reached above the Earth in years.
Spaceflight reached multiple milestones including the first private SpaceX Spaceflight, the first non-professional crew to become astronauts and the first Black female spacecraft pilot. It also made history as the youngest American astronaut, as well the first person to fly in space using a prosthesis.
