posted 02-03-2021 09:03 AM               

Please use this topic to discuss Inspiration4, the first all civilian orbital mission, to be launched by SpaceX.

posted 02-03-2021 09:05 AM               

Inspiration4, scheduled to become the world's first all-civilian mission to space later this year, extends an out-of-this-world invitation on one of the biggest stages Earth has to offer – the broadcast of Super Bowl LV.

Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and fueled by Celeste's 'twinkling' take on a classic lullaby, Inspiration4's Super Bowl spot brings an inspiring opportunity to life as two people will be chosen to join the four-person crew.

posted 02-21-2021 02:02 PM               

Tomorrow: TODAY show and Tom Costello will reveal who is the first crew member to join the SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian space mission.

Plus: The mission's commander Jared Isaacman and the crew member join 3rd Hour of TODAY for their first live TV interview.

posted 02-22-2021 07:51 AM               

When Hayley was 10 years old, one of her knees began to ache. Her doctor thought it was just a sprain, but a few months later, tests revealed Hayley suffered from osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. Her family turned to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital for her treatment and care, which included chemotherapy and a limb-saving surgery. She is now finished with treatment and thriving. She obtained an undergraduate degree in Spanish in 2014, and obtained her Physician Assistant (PA) degree in 2016. She now works at St. Jude – the very place that saved her life – as a PA with leukemia and lymphoma patients.

"It's an incredible honor to join the Inspiration4 crew. This seat represents the hope that St. Jude gave me — and continues to give families from around the world, who, like me, find hope when they walk through the doors of St. Jude. When I was just 10 years old, St. Jude gave me the opportunity to grow up. Now I am fulfilling my dreams of working at the research hospital and traveling around the world. It's incredible to be a part of this mission that is not only raising crucial funds for the lifesaving work of St. Jude but also introducing new supporters to the mission and showing cancer survivors that anything is possible."

posted 03-01-2021 07:10 AM               

Thank you for the Shift4Shop entries and St. Jude donations. Please give time for selection process, in a few weeks... crew reveal.

posted 03-04-2021 08:18 AM               

We want to thank everyone for their generous donations and inspiring video entries. The final selection process is currently underway, and we will be making a public announcement to introduce our Generosity and Prosperity crew members in the coming weeks. Stay tuned!

posted 03-26-2021 02:21 PM               

It has been said that giving is not just about making a donation, it is about making a difference.

I am very pleased to report that your generosity is making a lasting difference by providing hope to children battling cancer and other life-threatening diseases at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital®. Your compassion is helping to cover what can often be insurmountable medical bills for these families, while also supporting St. Jude's ongoing and valiant fight against childhood cancer.

As the Commander of Inspiration4, the world's first all-civilian mission to space, I want to thank you for your support of St. Jude and our historic journey to the stars. Our mission's goal is to inspire people everywhere. In turn, you have inspired all of us with your contribution to our $200 million fundraising campaign to enable the great work done by the heroes at St. Jude. Thanks to you and more than 71,000 likeminded donors, we are well on our way towards that ambitious target to benefit this incredibly deserving organization that works tirelessly to improve countless lives around the world every day.

I am excited to share with you that the winner of the Generosity seat for the Inspiration4 mission has been determined from all the participants in the St. Jude program and will be announced shortly. We appreciate the enthusiastic response from you and so many people who showed their love of both St. Jude and space exploration. In addition to the Generosity seat, we recently selected the winner of the Prosperity seat, who will also be announced in the coming days. These crew members will join Hayley Arceneaux, a St. Jude employee and cancer survivor, in the Hope seat, and me on our epic voyage to space. For all donors entitled to rewards, items are currently being processed and will be shipped in the coming weeks.

I hope that you will continue to follow our mission in the weeks and months ahead. You can track our progress at inspiration4.com and find more ways to get involved as we raise awareness and money for the mission of St. Jude: Finding cures. Saving children.

We are honored to follow the pioneering giants who traveled before us … and privileged to do our part to advance civilization's exploration of the heavens. Just as important, we are committed to doing all we can in the fight against childhood cancer right here on earth. Words cannot express our gratitude knowing that you stand united with us in that vital and noble cause.

posted 03-30-2021 08:44 AM               

Inspiration4, the world's first all-civilian mission to space, today [March 30] announced the final two members of the four-person crew that will undertake a historic voyage to the stars later this year.

Representing the mission pillar of Generosity is Christopher Sembroski of Seattle, WA, and representing the mission pillar of Prosperity is Dr. Sian Proctor of Phoenix, AZ. Both will join previously announced crew member Hayley Arceneaux representing the mission pillar of Hope, under the command of Shift4 CEO Jared Isaacman. SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket will launch the crew aboard a Dragon spacecraft later this year.

Watch the full crew introduction from the SpaceX hangar at historic Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

posted 05-21-2021 11:45 AM               

What unique items or memorabilia should fly to space? The Inspiration4 team wants your ideas! Some of these items may then be auctioned off to support St. Jude post-launch. Contact us at partner@inspiration4.com!

posted 06-21-2021 10:09 PM            

Another week of training wrapped up SpaceX for the Inspiration4 crew. We all got suited up. Lots of academics, simulations and plenty of blood donations in the interest of science and a variety of medical training, too. Back again real soon.

posted 06-21-2021 10:43 PM               

We wear prior-flown suits in training and then our custom ones we get closer to launch. We also wear previously worn and washed comfort garments as well. I am wearing someone's long underwear from Crew-1 in this pic, you have to guess though.

posted 07-24-2021 08:18 PM               

Training began in April, but last two months have been intense as we prepare for launch. Our crew has been in full sims with SpaceX controllers. Long days, but we love it.

Week ahead is at LC-39A and water recovery/survival training at Kennedy Space Center. Rest of August is more full team simulations, including a 30 hour sim.

The first of our "flight" spacesuits have arrived. Tried mine on this week and looks okay. We all feel fortunate to be part of this.

We have a number of additional fundraising events for St. Jude coming up, including details on the documentary. We will hit that $200m goal. Expect more specifics around a launch event in August.

Looking like our fighter jet training weekend, coming up soon, will have five aircraft available for our crew training: two L-39s, two AlphaJets and one Mig-29.

posted 07-31-2021 08:09 PM               

There's nothing like signing your ride to space.

posted 08-10-2021 01:32 PM               

Callsigns acquired.

During a naming ceremony on Sunday, the extended Inspiration4 teams and families bestowed callsigns on Chris, Sian, and Hayley.

Introducing: Hanks, Leo, Rook, and Nova.

posted 08-30-2021 02:39 PM               

Crew Equipment Interface Test (CEIT) aka "Dragon Test Drive" complete. This morning we strapped in to Crew Dragon Resilience with our flight spacesuits. All systems checked good! Dragon is stacked on trunk and looking sexy. L-16 days.

posted 09-01-2021 05:28 PM               

A look at Dragon's Cupola, which will provide our Inspiration4 astronauts with incredible views of Earth from orbit!

The crew visited the flight-hardware Cupola in California before it was shipped to Florida for integration with Dragon Resilience.

posted 09-06-2021 10:38 AM               

The KSC Visitor Complex is selling tickets to view this launch from the Saturn V Center (3.9 miles), the closest possible viewing location. Check back closer to launch for the launch time once announced, and information on where the next best places to view will be.

posted 09-06-2021 08:33 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
They are not flight crew, as they are not SpaceX employees.

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posted 09-06-2021 09:15 PM               

As said, it is still to be seen what the FAA will do.

quote:

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Originally posted by 328KF:
...and then be called an "astronaut"?

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posted 09-14-2021 09:00 PM               

Watch the crew discuss their mission from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

posted 09-15-2021 09:43 AM               

Today's SpaceX webcast for the launch of the Inspiration4 mission will go live about four hours before liftoff.

SpaceX is targeting launch for today (Wednesday, Sept. 15) at 8:02 p.m. EDT (Thursday, Sept. 16 at 00:02 UTC).

posted 09-16-2021 12:26 AM               

Dragon and the Inspiration4 crew have reached a circular orbit of 585 km [363.5 mi] — a new Dragon altitude record.

View from Dragon's cupola:

posted 09-16-2021 12:15 PM               

I told them that this is way more important than the recent "billionaire right up to the Karman line and immediately return to the launch site" launches, as it's an orbital launch with as close to "normal" people as you'll probably see for a while.

This is the culmination of a dream that has existed ever since the early shuttle program; the idea that people who are not full-time NASA (or Russian) astronauts get to go into space. Had STS-51L gone differently, "normal folk" would have likely gone on following shuttle launches, but we all know how that went down.

posted 09-16-2021 12:20 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by OV-105:
So I am guessing they will qualify for the FAA civilian astronaut wings with this flight?

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The primary issue, according to two current officials with the Federal Aviation Administration, is that SpaceX designated the four people on board as "spaceflight participants" instead of "crew" in its FAA license application for the Inspiration 4 mission...

"No one is guaranteed to get wings," an FAA official told CNN about the Inspiration 4 flight. "We haven't made a decision one way or another because there is nothing to decide yet."

SpaceX cannot nominate the crew for commercial astronaut wings until after they return to Earth. While the FAA's new eligibility requirements do not permit "spaceflight participants" to qualify for regular wings, the members of the Inspiration 4 mission could be considered for an honorary award.

posted 09-16-2021 12:27 PM               

The last interesting thing is that the cupola is located in the same part of the Dragon as the toilet, which has some advantages. Jared Isaacman described to Insider how it would work: "It's not a ton of privacy. But you do have this kind of privacy curtain that cuts across the top of the spacecraft, so you can kind of separate yourself from everyone else. And that also happens to be where the glass cupola is. So, you know, when people do inevitably have to use the bathroom, they're going to have one hell of a view."

posted 09-16-2021 07:14 PM               

Mission completed. Jared Isaacman just became the first person to ever place a bet from outer space to Las Vegas.

As part of the mission, Inspiration4 and BetMGM will be each donating $25,000 to St. Jude!

I was honored to be the one to place the bet for him. His instructions were relayed to me on Thursday afternoon by his brother Michael, who had communicated with Jared from space earlier that day.

After Jared's brother Michael called me from Inspiration4 takeoff area at the Kennedy Space Center, I went to the cage at MGM Grand and as a proxy bettor, was able to take out $8,000. The Proxy bettor documentation was signed prior to launch.

I then placed the following bets, as Jared instructed Michael to tell me:

His two bets:

• $4,000 on the over of 40.5 on Thursday Night's New York Giants-Washington Football Team game.

• $4,000 on the Philadelphia Eagles to win the Super Bowl at 66/1.

Now, I'll wait around to see if the two teams can score more than 40 points. If so, I'll meet Jared in Orlando for a Splashdown event in a couple of days with his winnings ($7,636.35 in total) — which will be donated to St. Judes.

We'll add $268,000 if the Eagles win the Super Bowl.

posted 09-16-2021 07:24 PM               

This just in from Inspiration4 Mission Control. We can confirm that St. Jude patients got to speak with the crew live this afternoon, asking the questions we all want to know like "are there cows on the moon?" Standby and follow us for more.