SpaceX's all-civilian crew is preparing for a three-day Inspiration 4 Crew Dragon mission in September, which is seen as the start of a new era in civilian space travel.
Jared Isaacman, a billionaire CEO and founder of the mission's main sponsor Shift4 Payments, a Pennsylvania-based payments processing company, leads the mission. He said that the mission represents a huge shift in the dynamics of space exploration.
Isaacman paid SpaceX founder Elon Musk an undisclosed amount for the chance to bring him and three other civilians into space. He is also paying for all expenses, including tax implications, for the four-crewmember team.
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This is the first time, Isaacman said, that global superpowers are not involved in sending people to space. He added this is an initial step before "everyday people are going to be able to go and explore among the stars and all the great things to come from here."
Isaacman's purchase fulfills a long-held dream for space flight.
Meet Space X Inspiration 4 All-Civilian Crew
Other crewmembers in the Inspiration 4 mission are Dr. Sian Proctor and Chris Semroski, both knowledgeable in aerospace and science who were picked in a lottery. Proctor, a 51-year-old scientist and geoscience professor at South Mountain Community College in Phoenix, Arizona, was among the finalists in NASA's 2009 astronaut class. Semroski, on the other hand, is a 41-year-old former Air Force weapons specialist and Lockheed Martin employee.
Rounding up the civilian crew is Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a cancer survivor and researcher who works at the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the beneficiary of the mission, considered as the youngest American to ever reach space, and the first with a prosthesis.
They have spoken to NBC's Today and shared how they felt about being part of the historic mission. Proctor said it was like getting a "golden ticket to Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory."
Isaacman said he was "overwhelmed" with the "very real moment" of having history unfold. Sembroski said he wanted to be an inspiration for young kids to spark interest in science and technology through the mission. Arceneaux said the mission will give hope to the young people she works with on a daily basis.
Millions Raised for Children's Hospital
Sembroski was chosen from over 72,000 aspirants who donated to a fundraising campaign for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that raised around $15 million, apart from the $113 million donations from Isaacman, a USA Today report said. Untallied corporate donations have reached $200 million for the hospital.
Sembrski is no stranger to the US Kennedy Space Center, the launching site of the mission because he once worked in the facility as a counselor 20 years ago. The mission will lift off from the center's Launch Complex 39A, where the Apollo and shuttle missions were housed.
Proctor, meanwhile, was picked among 200 hopefuls in an online business competition backed by Shift4Shop, an e-commerce platform that was based on the ability to raise funds for the hospital.
Arceneaux, for her part, had been treated for bone cancer when she was 10 years old and survived. She will represent the hospital in the mission. She will largely play a medical role to administer experiments and oversee crew health.
Extensive Training for a Limited Period
The four crewmembers will undergo extensive training for a limited period, with six months left before the target launch, which around the end of September this year.
They will orbit the Earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour above the International Space Station, approximately 335 miles from the Earth. After three days, the crew will descend back to Earth and reach the sea near the Florida coast
The Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will host the Inspiration 4 mission, brought astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Soichi Noguchi to the International Space Station late last year.
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