Early on Thursday morning the civilian crew of Inspiration4 blasted off from Launch Complex 39A at the NASA Kennedy Space Center.
The mission is the first of its kind and the pressure was on SpaceX to pull the launch off without a hitch. With that having been said, launching and landing rockets is something SpaceX has become rather good at.
The good news is that not even weather could delay the launch and the launch sequence went off incredibly smoothly. The Falcon9 rocket used in the launch was successfully landed on the drone ship Just Read The Instructions following First Stage Separation.
“Our crew carries the responsibility and importance of this mission as we prepare to blast off,” said Inspiration4 Commander Jared Isaacman. “We have been well-prepared for the challenges ahead of us the next three days and look forward to sharing our experience with the world as we continue to bring attention to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital here on Earth.”
The civilian crew has spent six months training for the next three days they will spend in orbit. This training included centrifuge training, Dragon simulations, Zero-G plane training and testing.
Something we weren’t aware of is how far away Inspiration4 is from Earth. The International Space Station orbits Earth at a distance of 420km while the Hubble Space Telescope orbits at a distance of 540km. The crew aboard Inspiration4 is currently 585km away from the ground marking the furthest a human has been away from Earth since the Hubble mission.
The spacecraft will orbit Earth ever 90 minutes and you can follow the journey over on SpaceX’s website here. As of 08:23 the crew are approaching the US.
During their 72 hour trip, the crew will conduct a variety of experiments aimed at better understanding how the expanse of space affects the human body and mind.
The overall goal of the mission is to raise $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through donations and auctions of items the crew has taken to orbit.
After three days the crew will reenter the atmosphere and splashdown off the coast of Florida.
You can watch the launch in full below but if you want to skip to the launch click this link to be taken to the 4:17:16 mark.
[Image – Inspiration4]
