SpaceX is set to launch the first entirely civilian orbital mission this year, commanded by billionaire entrepreneur Jared Isaacman. He will donate the three remaining seats and contribute millions to childhood cancer research.
Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, will lead this groundbreaking flight with SpaceX—the first private company to send astronauts to the International Space Station last year. This 37-year-old accomplished pilot will command the four-person Inspiration4 mission aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, with liftoff scheduled for late this year.
This mission features no professional astronauts. Isaacman is donating the other three seats to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, a world-renowned leader in treating childhood cancer and other diseases free of charge.
St. Jude has selected one of its staff members for a seat. A second will go to a raffle winner, with Isaacman's fundraising campaign aiming to raise at least $200 million—participation doesn't require a donation. Isaacman is also personally pledging $100 million. For details, visit the Inspiration4 website.
The final seat will be awarded to "a deserving entrepreneur using the new e-commerce platform Shift4Shop," selected via a contest ending February 28.
"Inspiration4 fulfills a lifelong dream and advances a future where anyone can explore the stars," Isaacman said. "I embrace the responsibility of commanding this mission to inspire humanity and combat childhood cancer on Earth."
SpaceX will repurpose the "Resilience" Crew Dragon capsule, currently at the ISS from the Crew-1 mission. Launching on a Falcon 9 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the spacecraft will orbit Earth for two to four days before splashing down at sea—without docking at the station.
"This marks history's first privately crewed orbital mission," Elon Musk noted during a Monday call, adding that proceeds will support Starship development, SpaceX's next-gen interplanetary vehicle in testing.
SpaceX has also partnered with Axiom Space for another mission this year, sending four civilians to the ISS for about eight days aboard Crew Dragon, returning to a sea landing off Cape Canaveral, Florida.
