It has been confirmed that SpaceX—the aerospace manufacturer and space transportation company founded in 2002 by Elon Musk in order to colonize Mars—will be sending four civilian individuals aboard its SpaceX Dragon craft to visit the International Space Station.
This mission is dubbed the “world’s first all-civilian mission,” and its aim is to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This mission was given the title of Inspiration4, and will be launching later this year from the Kennedy Space Center.
Jared Isaacman, the CEO and founder of Shift4 Payments, will be leading the expedition, and donating the remaining seats to members of the public. Though one of the seats is reserved for a St. Jude ambassador, the rest will be dedicated for civilians with no ties to the organization.
The remaining two occupants will be decided by way of an online competition that started on February 1 and ends on February 28. In an interview, Elon Musk shared that the length of the mission will be entirely up to Isaacman, however, the normal time for it would be two to four days.
SpaceX is planning to use Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, currently docked at the International Space Station. Musk confirms that NASA is aware of the mission “and is supportive.”
Photo via SpaceX