Elon Musk headed SpaceX’s new Inspiration4 mission announced its 4-person crew. This crew will undertake a historic, all-civilian space voyage. Headed by billionaire Jared Isaacman, the crew will have an ultimate-window which will offer them a panoramic view of Earth from the Space. The Inspiration4 will take off from the Kennedy Space Centre’s Launch Complex- 39A.

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The all-civilian crew will travel across the Earth’s lower orbit in a multi-day journey that will eclipse more than 90% of the human population. Inspiration4 derives its name from the word ‘Inspiration’ in the recognition of the crew that will raise money for the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

To understand the importance of this event, one must remember that the first human flight was taken by Wright Brothers in 1903, just 118 years from today. In just over a century, human intelligence and bravery has led us to a point where civilians too can realize their dream of going to the space.

The 4-person crew will be carried by the Dragon spacecraft that’s capable of carrying 7 passengers from the Earth’s orbit to space, and beyond. Designed and developed by SpaceX that’s owned and led by Elon Musk, the Dragon is the world’s first and only private spacecraft that will take humans to the space station.

Space X Dragon Specifications:

Height: 8.1 m / 26.7 ft

Diameter: 4 m / 13 ft

Capsule Volume: 9.3 m³ / 328 ft³

Trunk Volume: 37 m³ / 1,300 ft³

Launch Payload Mass: 6,000 kg / 13,228 lbs

Return Payload Mass: 3,000 kg / 6,614 lbs

Let’s meet the crew of Inspiration 4 Mission:

Jared Isaacman, Commander & Benefactor

Jared is the commander of the mission and also a benefactor of it. He is a billionaire who’s the CEO of Shift4 Payments that’s currently listed on the NASDAQ. Isaacman started Shift4 from his basement like a lot of other Silicon Valley entrepreneurs when he was 16 and built the company into payment tech company that employs over 1,200 people. Moreover, he’s also an accomplished jet pilot. Isaacman holds several world records that includes two-speed-around-the-world flights in 2008 and 2009 in which he raised money for the Make-a-Wish foundation. He’s a proficient pilot who has flown in more than 100 airshows for charitable causes. He’s also the founder of Draken International, the world’s largest private air force that trains pilots for the US Armed Forces.

Hayley Arceneaux

Hayley Arceneaux is an inspirational soul who was just 10 years old when she was told that she suffered from a type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. When her family turned to St. Jude Children’s Hospital for her treatment which, she was aided by the hospital in her chemotherapy as well as her limb-saving surgery. She is a physician assistant who earned her degree in 2016 and works currently at St. Jude itself, paying the poetic debt by working at the same place which saved her life.

Chris Sembroski

According to SpaceX’s press kit, “Sembroski grew up with a natural curiosity about outer space. Stargazing late at night on the roof of his high school and launching high-powered model rockets in college cemented this passion.” When he was in college he volunteered with ProSpace, a lobbying effort that promoted a legislation which would lead to opening up space travel to private companies like SpaceX. He went on to serve in the US Air Force where he was in charge of maintaining fleet of Minuteman 3 Intercontinental missiles, and was later deployed for service in Iraq. Later, he earned a B.S. in Aeronautics from the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. According to SpaceX, “he has sought innovative, industry-disrupting methods to monitor and maintain mechanical equipment, making everything from data centers to hospitals more efficient.”

Dr. Sian Proctor

Dr. Sian Proctor has multiple feathers to her cap as she’s a geoscientist, an explorer and a science communication specialist. Born in the Guam she spent her childhood seeing her father work with the NASA during the Apollo missions. She’s an analog astronaut, meaning, she’s a person who conducts several activities in simulated conditions, and has so far completed 4 missions. Her motto is “Space2inspire” and she uses the Space2inspire art to encourage conversations around all things space that can generate passion among children. She was also a finalist for the 2009 NASA astronaut program. She also serves as a geoscience professor at the University of Phoenix, Arizona.