SpaceX launched four ordinary citizens into orbit Wednesday night without any professional astronauts along for the ride, an unprecedented feat in the history of spaceflight.
The five-hour launch window for Inspiration4 opened at 8:02 p.m. ET for launch from Launch Complex 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center.
Sitting atop the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket are four private citizens in a specially modified Crew Dragon capsule awaiting to start three days of orbiting the Earth, the first time an all-civilian crew will have orbited the planet.
Paying for it all is Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire high-school dropout, who is promoting the flight as a massive fundraising effort for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Isaacman, a pilot who is qualified to fly commercial and military jets, reached a deal with SpaceX in late 2020 for the mission. Neither is saying how much he is paying SpaceX for the launch, though Isaacman has said it was far less than $200 million he hopes to raise for St. Jude.
“This dream began 10 months ago,” Isaacman said at a news conference Tuesday, noting how quickly the mission came together. “We set out from the start to deliver a very inspiring message, certainly the opportunities up in space and what can be done there. But also what we can accomplish here on Earth.”