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Watch Live: SpaceX launches world's first all-civilian Inspiration4 mission
The SpaceX Inspiration4 mission is being watched with great interest across the world since it is the world's first all-civilian mission, a venture that could pave the way for space tourism.
SpaceX has launched the Inspiration4 – the world's first spaceflight crewed entirely by civilians – from the legendary launch complex 39A Nasa's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida, where the Apollo 11 mission once took off for the Moon. The launch occurred at 8pm eastern time on Wednesday (which translates to around 5:32am IST on Thursday). As the countdown clock on the SpaceX counter hit zero, the Falcon 9 rocket fired up its engines and took the Crew Dragon capsule roaring towards space. The SpaceX mission intends to take the all-civilian crew to an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers) above the surface of the Earth, which is much further and deeper into space than the International Space Station (ISS).
The event is being watched with great interest around the world since it is expected to pave the way for a new era of space travel for common people, and not just government-sponsored astronauts. However, it is to be noted that the crew travelling in this spaceflight is still “trained” to a measure and the passengers are far from ‘average’.
Also Read | 5 facts about the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission
Jared Isaacman, a 38-year-old billionaire and philanthropist with pilot training, is sponsoring the trip. He is also the commander of the spaceflight, having chosen the rest of the crew himself through a competition.
Isaacman is joined in the SpaceX mission by Hayley Arceneaux, a pediatric cancer survivor and physician assistant. Chris Sembroski, a US Air Force veteran who now works as an aerospace data engineer, is also part of the crew. The other member is Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old geoscientist who was almost selected to become an astronaut for NASA in 2009.
Follow live updates on SpaceX's Inspiration4 launch:
SpaceX is conducting a live stream on its YouTube channel, which began roughly four hours ahead of the liftoff.
Netflix, which will be putting out a documentary series with the Time Magazine on the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission, is also running a live stream on its YouTube channel.
The live updates from the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission are being tweeted out in real-time by the official Twitter handles of SpaceX and Inspiration4.
