SpaceX's all-civilian rocket launched
Inspiration4, run by tech billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has launched its first all-civilian mission to orbit on Thursday.
image for illustrative purpose
San Francisco: Inspiration4, run by tech billionaire Elon Musk's SpaceX, has launched its first all-civilian mission to orbit on Thursday.
SpaceX's charity-driven mission named Inspiration4 lifted off at 8:02 pm EDT on Wednesday (5.30 am India time Thursday) aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It is commanded by tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and joined by Medical Officer Haley 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.
"Liftoff of @Inspiration4X! Go Falcon 9! Go Dragon!," SpaceX shared in a tweet.
"Congratulations, #Inspiration4! Proud to provide the launchpad from @NASAKennedy for the first spaceflight with an all-private crew. Today's launch represents a significant milestone in the quest to make space for everybody," added NASA in a tweet.
SpaceX is targeting a five-hour launch window. The crew will orbit Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule every 90 minutes along a customised flight path.
The three-day mission will target approximately a 575 km orbit, flying farther from Earth than any human spaceflight since the Hubble Space Telescope repair missions.
Upon conclusion of the three-day journey, Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for a soft water landing off the coast of Florida.
The Dragon has a dome window, inspired by the Cupola on the International Space Station, and will provide the crew with incredible views of Earth, according to the Inspiration4 team.
