Tuesday, September 14, 2021

SpaceX Plans First Billionaire Space Tourism Launch Today

Hawthorne-based SpaceX is planning its first ever, all-civilian space launch today, saying it is targeting a five hour launch window opening at 8:02 p.m. EDT. The company said it the "Inspiration4" mission will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission purports to be focused on the "study of the human body in space", but is one of a series of space tourism efforts by a number of companies. The crew includes Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments--which bankrolled the flight--plus Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and pediatric cancer survivor; Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran and aerospace data engineer; and Dr. Sian Proctor, a geoscientist, entrepreneur, and pilot. Isaacman, a billionaire, purchased the launch earlier this year, complete with a Super Bowl ad.

---