How to Watch Inspiration 4 Return to Earth
Inspiration4 is a historic mission that launched four non-astronauts into space, making them the first people to orbit the Earth without NASA astronaut training. Billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman paid for the trip and used it to raise $200 million to support childhood cancer research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
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While Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos have fueled spaceflight stories lately, four "everyday people" will make history on Wednesday by launching into orbit in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule. This is the first all-civilian mission to orbit Earth, and you can watch it live from your computer, mobile device or TV.
Inspiration4 will orbit the planet for three days and splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. The crew includes tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, child cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, community college professor and former NASA astronaut finalist Sian Proctor and data specialist Chris Sembroski.
This is the first private spaceflight in history, and it also marks a milestone for the democratization of space travel. It was paid for by Isaacman, who is using the flight to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.
Unlike previous SpaceX crewed missions, Inspiration4 will not dock with the International Space Station, instead flying on a separate, higher-altitude flight path. This allows the crew to see expansive views of Earth from a giant dome window called a cupola.
The crew will be carrying a variety of items, including the ukulele that Sembroski played and artwork that Proctor created to help raise funds for St. Jude, as well as a rosary that the crew wore during their flight.
After spending three days in orbit, Inspiration4's four civilian astronauts are preparing to splash down in the Atlantic Ocean off Florida on Saturday evening. The group will be greeted by their families, and will fly back to the SpaceX recovery ship.
Before their space trip, the crew spent months going through commercial astronaut training, a process that included a fighter jet ride. In addition to learning about spaceflight, they also learned about the various food options available to them in space, from pizza and pasta Bolognese to roasted edamame and Mediterranean lamb.
As they prepared to leave the comfort of Earth, the four astronauts talked about their dreams for the future and how they plan to inspire others to pursue their goals. They also shared their excitement about making history in space.
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Inspiration 4 is a private crew destined to become the first American civilians to orbit Earth in three days. It launches on September 15th from Kennedy Space Center.
After launching, the space capsule will orbit Earth for three days at an altitude of 575 kilometers. That’s higher than the International Space Station. It’s also the first all-civilian mission in history, meaning that Elon Musk’s SpaceX company won’t be on board the craft, but rather four civilians.
The crew includes billionaire Jared Isaacman, cancer survivor Hayley Arceneaux, data engineer Chris Sembroski and geoscientist and science communicator Sian Proctor. They were chosen from contests run by Isaacman in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and their seats were awarded by people who donated to the nonprofit organization.
As preparations for the flight begin, each of the crewmembers weighs the inherent risk of space travel against their personal goals and principles of generosity and prosperity. Then, after a fighter jet ride that prepares them for the G-forces of spaceflight, their lives are transformed by a journey into the unknown.
Directed by Jason Hehir, the Netflix docuseries Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space follows the team through the selection process, training and launch, with near-real-time footage captured from the crew’s perspective. Its first two episodes will focus on the recruitment process and preparations, with a feature-length finale episode airing days after the mission’s completion.
While this series does a good job of showing how incredible it is to have an all-civilian crew in orbit, it doesn’t ask very hard questions or address some of the criticisms that have been leveled at commercial space travel. In fact, the first two episodes are more like an ad for SpaceX than anything else.
But the final episode, which shows the crew’s return to Earth, is actually quite moving and is well worth watching. It’s a beautiful, evocative and heartfelt piece of filmmaking that will leave you feeling inspired.
Whether you’re a SpaceX fan or not, the journey that these four civilians are about to take is incredibly inspiring and worth checking out. You can watch a live stream on YouTube or you can watch the crew’s story unfold in a docuseries that accompanies the mission on Netflix, which is planning to release a hybrid live-action animation special for kids and families to help them understand what they’re about to experience.
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The crew of Inspiration 4 (yes, four humans, no professional astronauts) has been in space for the past three days and will soon be making their return trip home. If you can't make it to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, you'll be able to watch the show from your phone, tablet, computer or TV screen.
The four lucky winners of a seat on the SpaceX reusable rocket that will carry them into orbit have been tasked with delivering the goods. The crew consists of Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor. The crew will travel in the newest iteration of SpaceX's flagship capsule called the Crew Dragon. It's a streamlined version of the original, and is designed to be more environmentally friendly than its predecessor. It's a small but mighty vessel that is the heir to NASA's venerable space shuttle and can carry a payload of up to 50 pounds. The aforementioned feisty will be taking its place in the company of a number of space tourists, including the likes of Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
