Space for Everyone

September 13, 2021 – It’s fair to say that everyone, at one time or another, has dreamed of being an astronaut. And now, for a few regular joes and janes, that dream is coming true.

Scheduled for a September 15 launch window, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will be manned by four private citizens, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroki. Not only will it be the ride of a lifetime, but the effort is also fundraising effort which is aiming to donate $200 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Dubbed Inspiration4, this is the first all-civilian mission to orbit.

Issacman is a billionaire who is actually backing the venture, but he is also behind the effort to raise the money for St. Jude. Arceneaux is a frontline worker chosen by the hospital and Sembroki was chosen randomly (actually his friend won and gave Sembroki the seat – thanks, bro!)  from a sweepstakes that raised $13 million.  Proctor gained her seat through a contest similar to “Shark-Tank” that also raised money for St. Jude.

The crew will be aboard the Crew Dragon atop a Falcon 9 rocket, both veteran vehicles that have flown before, with the Dragon being the capsule that flew the first Crew-1 mission last November.

Although the crew will not visit the International Space Station during their flight they will have three days in orbit.  The docking port has been replaced with a dome window, so the view should be spectacular. To collect data on the effects of a journey like this on “regular people” (as opposed to the pros who train for it), medical experiments and the collection of health info will be on the agenda. Hey, you can’t look out the window for three days straight, although you might want to.

It’s an exciting time to be a regular guy or gal, sitting on the reclining lounge chair one day, strapping in for a trip to weightlessness the next. Hey, it could happen.  It did for four lucky people.

Source: Florida Today ; Visit Space Coast

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