The all-civilian SpaceX tourists returned safely to Earth after spending three days and creating history in the space. They landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida on Sunday morning after successfully concluding the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronauts on board.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule, slowed down by four large parachutes, descended on the ocean bed at 7pm local time Saturday (3am Sunday UAE time).
A SpaceX boat immediately retrieved the capsule, before the hatch could be opened and the astronauts came out. They were then transported by helicopter to the Kennedy Space Center, where on Wednesday they took off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket.
“That was a heck of a ride for us, and we’re just getting started,” said billionaire captain Jared Isaacman, who financed the trip.
More joy awaited the Inspiration4 crew after they landed. The whole mission was funded by Isaacman to raise awareness and USD200 million in charity for St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Isaacman set the ball rolling with a donation of USD100 million, and the mission raised another USD60.2 million in donations.
When Inspiration4 tweeted a welcome back message for the crew member and added “#Inspiration4’s mission doesn’t end here — help us reach our $200 million fundraising goal for
@StJude”, Musk pledged to contribute USD50 million himself.
“Count me in for $50M,” Musk said, pushing the total raised to more than USD210 million.
A little while later, Isaacman tweeted: “We loved space but it’s great to be home! Incredible news on @elonmusk donation and surpassing the 200m goal for @StJude. Let’s keep it going! On behalf of @inspiration4x – thank you all for the support and thanks to @SpaceX for bringing us home safe! Keep changing the world.”
Isaacman was accompanied by Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old nurse; Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old professor; and Chris Sembroski, 42, a US Air Force veteran. Unlike astronauts, the members of the Inspiration4 mission did not have any formal training. They did not go to the International Space Station, but remained in orbit around the Earth.
The Dragon capsule traveled farther than the International Space Station (ISS) at an orbit of about 575 kilometers (357 miles) high, and circled the globe more than 15 times each day. During the flight, the crew members’ vital signs were monitored to study the effects of the environment of space on complete novices.
