Inspiration4
Resilience at the Kennedy Space Center
Mission typeSpace tourism
Operator
COSPAR ID2021-084A Edit this at Wikidata
SATCAT no.49220Edit this on Wikidata
WebsiteInspirati④n
Mission duration3 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftCrew Dragon Resilience[1]
ManufacturerSpaceX
Launch mass12,519 kg (27,600 lb)
Landing mass9,616 kg (21,200 lb)
Crew
Members
Start of mission
Launch date15 September 2021 (planned) [2]
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5 (B1062.3)
Launch siteKennedy Space Center, LC-39A
ContractorSpaceX
End of mission
Landing date18 September 2021 (planned)
Landing siteAtlantic Ocean
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit (planned) [3]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitudeNot announced yet.
Apogee altitude590 km (370 mi)
Inclination51.6°
Period90.0 minutes

Isaacman's insignia for the mission
File:Inspiration4 mission crew.jpg
(L-R) Sembroski, Proctor, Isaacman and Arceneaux 

Inspiration4 (or Inspirati④n) is a spaceflight planned for four people aboard the SpaceX Resilience capsule on 15 Sep 2021[4] The three-day flight will be the first human spaceflight to orbit Earth with exclusively private citizens on board.[5][6][7] The flight will be privately operated by SpaceX using a previously-flown Crew Dragon capsule launched to low Earth orbit. The flight will be sponsored by Jared Isaacman, who will be on the flight along with Hayley Arceneaux, Christopher Sembroski, and Sian Proctor.

This first all-private citizen flight to space is slated to launch on 15 September 2021. Inspiration4 is the first crewed orbital spaceflight since the Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission-4 in 2009, whose primary objective is not to visit an orbital space station.

Background

On 1 February 2021, SpaceX announced plans to launch Inspiration4 during the 4th quarter of 2021. The new promotional trailer for the accompanying series now states the flight will launch on 15 Sep 2021.

Crew

The four Inspiration4 crew members were selected to support four different aims of the sponsor and to exhibit four particular attributes: leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity.

As an experienced pilot, including qualification in multiple military jets,[8][9] and as the financial backer for the flight, Jared Isaacman will be the flight's commander (Leadership). Isaacman purchased two other seats for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. One of those two seats will be filled by Hayley Arceneaux (Hope), 29 years, a St. Jude employee and former bone cancer patient, now a physician assistant at St. Jude Hospital.[10] The other is Christopher Sembroski (Generosity), who donated and participated in the raffle as part of an attempt[needs update] to raise US$200 million for the hospital.[11] Sembroski's raffle ticket was not selected[12] but an unnamed friend of his from Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University, who was initially selected to fly but declined for personal reasons, gave his seat to Sembroski.[13] The fourth crew member, Sian Proctor (Prosperity/Leo), is an entrepreneur who was selected using a format similar to the reality television series Shark Tank.[14] The panel of judges for the fourth seat included Marc Benioff, Stephanie Mehta, Mark Rober, and Jon Taffer.[15]

Isaacman and all crew members will undergo commercial astronaut training by SpaceX,[14] including orbital mechanics, operating in microgravity and zero gravity environments, stress testing, emergency preparedness training, mission simulations, and learning about the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft.[16][needs update]

Position Astronaut
Spacecraft Commander (symbolizing Leadership) United States Jared Isaacman[11]
First spaceflight
Pilot (symbolizing Prosperity) United States Sian Proctor[2]
First spaceflight
Chief Medical Officer (symbolizing Hope) United States Hayley Arceneaux[10]
First spaceflight
Mission Specialist (symbolizing Generosity) United States Christopher Sembroski[2]
First spaceflight

The crew has been assigned call signs on the occasion of their training on fighter jets. Isaacman's call sign is Rook, Proctor's is Leo, Arcenaux's is Nova, and Sembroski's is Hanks.

Spacecraft

Artist's Rendering Of The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience And Its Cupola To Be Flown On Inspiration4 Mission[a]

The mission will use the Crew Dragon Resilience capsule. This will be the second flight of the spacecraft, which first flew as part of the SpaceX Crew-1 mission and splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on 2 May 2021.[14][18] SpaceX has also installed a custom camera inside the retractable nosecone the dome (and normally the docking port) is cocooned inside during ascent and reentry. In just the right position, that camera should be able to take some truly spectacular photos of Dragon’s four astronauts (Jared Isaacman, cancer survivor and PA Hayley Arceneaux, science communicator Sian Proctor, and raffle-winner Christopher Sembroski) silhouetted by Earth, space, and the stars.

Cupola Window

The capsule docking adapter, which is normally used to dock with the International Space Station, is replaced for this mission by a domed glass window allowing 360-degree views out of the spacecraft, providing views of space and the Earth like the Cupola Module on the ISS.[19][20] Inspiration4-mission-crew will be the first to Use the cupola and is mated to crew Dragon Resilience on Its 1st mission. Its location is near the dragon Toilet and so a good feature for the crew. It is Easily Removable so that when the dragon will be used for ISS mission can replace this cupola with an ISS Docking mechanism. It is Sent To Space Inside the Dragon's Reusable or Retractable Nosecone and will be returned again stowed inside the nosecone after completion of Dragon Mission. It took just six months for the cupola from proposal, testing to 1st operational mission. It is not into discrete units like the ISS Cupola but a single monolithic glass structural hemispheric bowl. It thus provide 360 degree field of view which will be fascinating for the crew aboard the dragon.It is the largest single-piece window ever flown to space that happened on Inspiration4 launches in september.

Flight

Crew Dragon Resilience is expected to launch in September 2021 atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicle (B1062) from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A). Following three days in orbit, the spacecraft will return to Earth via splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.[21] The apogee will be 590 km and the inclination will be 51.6°.[3]

With SpaceX Crew-2 (Endeavour) and CRS-23 (C208), three Dragons will be in space during the same period.

In popular culture

On August 3, 2021, Netflix announced a docu-series about the spaceflight Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, is set to premiere on September 6, 2021.[22] The series is co-produced by Time.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ note this image lacks the four black heat shields that will protect parts of the dome from the heat of Dragon’s four most important Draco thrusters.[17]
  1. ^ With missions Inspiration 4 and SpaceX Crew-3 scheduled to use the same vehicle around the same time, the actual mission using Resilience is still to be determined
  2. ^ a b c Sheetz, Michael (30 March 2021). "Meet the full crew of the Inspiration4 mission flying with SpaceX in September". CNBC. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Meet The First All-Civilian Space Crew | Inspiration4 Livestream". Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  4. ^ https://www.space.com/netflix-spacex-inspiration4-private-spaceflight-documentary-trailer Documentary Trailer, Space.com
  5. ^ Davenport, Christian (25 February 2021). "As private companies erode government's hold on space travel, NASA looks to open a new frontier". The Washington Post. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  6. ^ Chow, Denise (1 February 2021). "SpaceX announces first mission to space with all-civilian crew". NBC News. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. ^ Burghardt, Thomas (1 February 2021). "SpaceX announces Inspiration4, all-civilian space mission in support of St Jude's Hospital". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  8. ^ Segran, Elizabeth (13 April 2015). "Meet The Fighter-Jet-Flying 32-Year-Old On Top Of The Payments Industry". Fast Company. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  9. ^ Tognini, Giacomo (7 October 2020). "Meet The New Billionaire Who Dropped Out of High School and Flies Fighter Jets for Fun". Forbes. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  10. ^ a b Dunn, Marcia (22 February 2021). "Bone cancer survivor to join billionaire on SpaceX flight". AP NEWS. Archived from the original on 22 February 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  11. ^ a b Leinfelder, Andrea (1 February 2021). "SpaceX, tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman invite the public to apply for ride into space". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. ^ "SPACEX REVEALS CIVILIAN PASSENGERS FOR TRIP INTO SPACE THIS YEAR". independent.co.uk. 2 April 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  13. ^ Muhlstein, Julie (18 April 2021). "Everett's own spaceman thrilled to join all-civilian mission". The Everett Herald. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  14. ^ a b c Chang, Kenneth (1 February 2021). "To Get on This SpaceX Flight, You Don't Have to Be Rich, Just Lucky". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  15. ^ Bianco, Brian (24 February 2021). "Inspiration4 Reveals Panel of Influential Judges to Select Entrepreneur to Join First All-Civilian Mission to Space". businesswire.com. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
  16. ^ Stimac, Valerie (1 February 2021). "SpaceX Announces First All-Civilian Mission To Space, Inspiration4". Forbes. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  17. ^ "SpaceX Inspiration4 astronauts reveal Dragon's 'cupola' in the flesh". Space Explored. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  18. ^ Berger, Eric (1 February 2021). "SpaceX announces first "free flyer" human spaceflight". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  19. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (30 March 2021). "SpaceX's Dragon spaceship is getting the ultimate window for private Inspiration4 spaceflight". space.com. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  20. ^ "dragon matted to cupola like window". Twitter. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  21. ^ "SpaceX to Launch Inspiration4 Mission to Orbit". SpaceX. 1 February 2021. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  22. ^ Petski, Denise (3 August 2021). "Netflix Greenlights 'Inspiration4' All Civilian Space Mission Docuseries From 'The Last Dance' Team". Deadline Hollywood.
  23. ^ Jeffrey, Kluger (23 April 2021). "Meet the Inspiration4 Team, the World's First Non-Professional Astronaut Space Crew". TIME Studios. Retrieved 14 August 2021.