Would you like to explore space without an astronaut?
SpaceX plans to launch four private citizens into orbit by the end of this year, it said in a press release Monday.
The mission, known as Inspiration4, has been dubbed ‘the world’s first fully civilian mission’. Elon Musk’s company promises that the Crew Dragon capsule will be launched by the fourth quarter of 2021.
The company’s spacecraft will be led by Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments. Known as Inspiration4, the mission is seeking support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Isaacman is donating the three associated seats on the mission “to crew members who will be selected to represent the mission pillars of leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity,” SpaceX said in a release.
“Inspiration4 is the realization of a lifelong dream and a step towards a future where everyone can get out and explore the stars. I appreciate the tremendous responsibility that comes with leading this mission and I want to use this historic moment to inspire humanity while helping to tackle childhood cancer here on Earth, ”Isaacman said in a statement.
Isaacman has given St. Jude two of the seats on the mission, one of which is reserved for a St. Jude ambassador directly associated with the mission. The fourth and final crew seat will be determined by an online competition running from February 1 to February 28, open to new and existing customers of Isaacman’s Shift4Shop eCommerce platform.
The Inspiration4 crew will undergo training led by SpaceX as they prepare for launch atop one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets.
Elon Musk’s company has announced several private missions in recent years, including a deal with Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to take the company’s Starship rocket on a trip around the moon in 2023. SpaceX also has space tourism deals with Axiom Space to fly four people to the International Space Station for a 10-day journey early next year, and Space Adventures, which plans to put four tourists on a five-day “free-flyer” by 2022 – journey to orbit the earth.