After their pioneering trip to orbit, Elon Musk surprised them with a surprise gift: a $50m donation for St Jude Children's Charity.
Soon after the splashdown of the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, SpaceX founder Bill Gates tweeted that he was donating the money to the mission's stated goal of raising $200m towards St Jude Childrens Research Hospital in Tennessee.
Musk replied to a tweet by the four-person crew, "Count me in for $50m." Health. Home. The crew requested the public's support in reaching their fundraising goal.
Jared Isaacman, who was the sponsor and commander for the mission called Inspiration4, paid SpaceX undisclosed million for the trip and donated the first $100m to charity.
Isaacman, 38, a pilot and entrepreneur, stated that he wanted to demonstrate that anyone can launch into orbit on their own. He ran a lottery to win one of the four seats, and another competition for customers of Shift4 Payments in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Just before sunset, their SpaceX capsule was parachuted into ocean. This is not far from the place where they had flown three days earlier.
A mission controller for SpaceX said, "Welcome back to Earth!" Your mission has demonstrated to the world how space can be for everyone.
Thanks so much, SpaceX, Isaacman said. It was an amazing ride... we are just beginning.
All-amateur crew became the first to orbit the globe without a professional astronaut. After liftoff on Wednesday, the fully-automated Dragon capsule reached an extraordinary 363 mile altitude. The capsule's top featured a large bubble-shaped window that allowed passengers to enjoy views of Earth.
These four space travelers were the first to complete their Atlantic flight since Apollo 9 in 1969. SpaceX's previous crewed splashdowns were in the Gulf of Mexico. They carried astronauts for Nasa. Crew members had to undergo medical checks before they could fly by helicopter to Kennedy Space Center to reunite with their families.
01:58 SpaceX's first all-civil crew launches into orbit video
Benji Reed, a senior director at SpaceX, stated that it was a clean mission from beginning to end.
Nearly 600 people have been to space, a record that started 60 years ago. It is expected to increase as space tourism heats-up.
Reed expects six private flights per year, which are sandwiched between the astronaut launches for Nasa. Four SpaceX flights have already been booked to carry paying customers to the station. They are accompanied by ex-NASA astronauts.
Three businessmen will pay $55m each for the first, with the second due to be completed in early 2019. Russia plans to hire an actor and film director in Russia next month, and a Japanese tycoon for December.
Customers looking for quick trips should check out Richard Bransons Virgin Galactic or Jeff Bezos Blue Origin. In July, the two piloted their own rockets into space. The flights lasted between 10 and 15 minutes.
