A Milestone for Space Travel: SpaceX Inspiration4
NASA
On September 16, humanity took one step closer to commercial space travel when four civilians went into orbit around the earth. Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor were the crew of the Inspiration4 mission, a SpaceX spaceflight with the goal of raising $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The Inspiration4 astronauts launched from the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A, the same location where the first humans ever to land on the moon launched. Inspiration4 spent three days orbiting around the Earth in the SpaceX Dragon Capsule, launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket.
At 7:06 EDT on September 18, 2021, the Inspiration4 capsule splashed down off the coast of Florida, ending their mission. The crew then received their SpaceX astronaut wings, approved by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). Commentators have called this mission an important historical milestone for space travel as we enter a new space age.
Each of the crew members of Inspiration4 had a designated core value to represent during the mission. Jared Isaacman was the commander of the mission and he represented the value of leadership. He is the CEO and founder of Shift4Shop, an eCommerce software, also being certified as a pilot. Hayley Arceneaux is a physician’s assistant at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and represented the value of Hope. She is a pediatric cancer survivor, being diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in her left knee at the age of 10. Chris Sembroski was the Mission Specialist for the mission and he represented generosity. He is an air force veteran and currently works as an aerospace data engineer. Sian Proctor was the mission pilot of Inspiration4, representing prosperity. She is an accomplished geoscientist, entrepreneur and pilot.
The SpaceX Inspiration4 spent three days orbiting the Earth. The whole team had never been to space before, with all of them civilians. Jared Isaacman paid an undisclosed amount for the trip, likely being in the millions. When they launched, their rocket pushed them off the planet, with the Dragon Capsule becoming their home for their time in orbit. The spacecraft orbited 575km above the Earth, higher than the International Space Station and the Hubble telescope. While in space, they worked on some experiments, mostly relating to the human body in outer space.
As they returned to Earth, their parachutes were deployed to ease their descent into the Pacific Ocean. They splashed down in the Atlantic, where the crew of four was promptly met. The crew and capsule were brought onto a recovery vessel, with the capsule eventually heading for Cape Canaveral for inspections. The four new space-goers were brought to the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. There they received their astronaut wings, pins that certified their new status as Private Astronauts. The wings have their name, mission role and callsign on the back, with a winged dragon capsule on the front. Hayley Arceneaux said, “This beautiful symbol of our journey means everything to me!” and Sian Proctor exclaimed, “I cried when I got my wings!” This proves as a testament to the achievement of these four new astronauts and how their time in space will affect their lives.