SpaceX To Launch World's First All-Civilian Orbital Mission Before End Of 2021
HAWTHORNE (CBSLA) - SpaceX is set to launch what it calls the world's first all-commercial astronaut mission to orbit by the end of 2021.
In a blog post, the Hawthorne-based company said its Falcon 9 rocket will launch Inspiration4 from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida "no earlier than the fourth quarter of this year".
The multi-day mission will orbit Earth every 90 minutes under the watchful eye of SpaceX mission control before reentering the atmosphere for a soft landing off the Florida coast.
The Inspiration4 crew - which will consist of Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, and three other individuals to be determined - will undergo commercial astronaut training by SpaceX, including emergency preparedness training as partial and full mission simulations.
The mission will raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Click here for more information on how to potentially join the Inspiration4 crew.