SpaceX - Dragon Crew / Inspiration4 patch.
Sep. 16, 2021
Inspiration4 launch. Image Credits: SpaceX/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga
On Wednesday, September 15 at 8:02 p.m. EDT, 00:02 UTC on September 16, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched the Inspiration4 mission – the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit – from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Approximately three days after liftoff, Dragon and the crew of Inspiration4 will splash down at one of several possible landing sites off the Florida coast. Follow Dragon’s journey in the tracker above as the Inspiration4 crew orbits Earth approximately every 90 minutes.
Inspiration4 launch and Falcon 9 first stage landing
Inspiration4 is commanded by Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer. Joining him are Medical Officer Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and pediatric cancer survivor; Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran and aerospace data engineer; and Mission Pilot Dr. Sian Proctor, a geoscientist, entrepreneur, and trained pilot.
Distance from the Earth
Infographic by SpaceX (Click on the image for enlarge)
Mission Objectives:
RAISE $200M FOR ST JUDE
The Inspiration4 mission is part of Jared’s ambitious fundraising goal to give hope to all kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases. Visit St. Jude Children's Research Hospital to learn how you can help the Inspiration4 crew reach their $200M fundraising goal.
Dr. Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman, Chris Sembroski, Hayley Arceneaux. Image Credit: SpaceX
STUDY THE HUMAN BODY IN SPACE
During their multi-day journey in orbit, the Inspiration4 crew will conduct scientific research designed to advance human health on Earth and during future long-duration spaceflights.
Dragon
Crew Dragon whit cupola. Image Credit: SpaceX
Dragon is traveling to an apogee of approximately 575 kilometers — flying farther than any human spaceflight since the Hubble missions. Dragon’s new cupola observation dome is the largest contiguous space window ever flown. Designed, tested, and qualified for flight in six months, it replaced the mechanism used on Dragon’s previous flight to autonomously dock to the International Space Station. The three-layer observation dome was put through an extensive qualification process, including thermal, vibration, structural environments, and life-cycle to verify capability.
Related article:
SpaceX, NASA Enables Commercial Crew, Private Astronaut Missions
https://orbiterchspacenews.blogspot.com/2021/09/spacex-nasa-enables-commercial-crew.html
Related link:
SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: SpaceX/SciNews/Orbiter.ch Aerospace/Roland Berga.
Best regards, Orbiter.ch
