Thursday, September 16, 2021

SpaceX Successfully Launches Space Tourism Flight

Hawthorne-based SpaceX successfully launched four, non-professional astronauts to space on Wednesday, the first time a SpaceX capsule has been used to take private citizens to space. The company's Inspiration4 mission was bankrolled by one of those citizens, billionaire Jared Isaacman, who made his fortune as the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments. The four are expected to spend three days orbiting the earth before returning to the planet. The space flight is fully automated and controlled from the ground, so the four do not need to pilot or control the craft, unless there is an emergency. The latest space tourism flight places the four well above the flights of both Jeff Bezos and Sir Richard Branson. Isaacman has been using the flight to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.