Will the year 2021 mark the beginning of space tourism? At SpaceX, the first 100% civilian mission is planned by the end of the year and the company Axiom Space has also just announced the first 4 names of its crew members.
Elon Musk's company plans to launch its first space tourism mission in the fourth quarter of 2021. Named Inspirations4, the 100% civilian mission will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It will carry Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, the company's first space tourist. Isaacman will donate the three seats next to him aboard the Dragon capsule to "individuals from the general public, whose identities will be announced in the coming weeks," said a press release.
The "space company" has launched a draw to elect two lucky winners who will take a seat aboard the shuttle. To participate, you will have to make a donation to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The stated goal for the Isaacman lottery is to raise $200 million for the institution.
The last and fourth passenger will be a hospital caregiver who has not yet been selected. The two people chosen at random will nevertheless have to meet a few criteria: they must be American citizens, weigh less than 125kg and be less than 2 meters tall.
"If you can ride an intense roller coaster, really intense, you should be able to fly on Dragon Crew," said Elon Musk at a press conference.
According to the company, the space tourism mission will last several days, and the space tourists will make an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes. After the mission, the capsule will enter the atmosphere for a landing off the coast of Florida.
At the same time, Axiom Space also plans to launch its first space mission with a private crew. The Ax-1 mission is scheduled to depart in January 2022 to the International Space Station (ISS). The crew will consist of Larry Connor, an American entrepreneur, Mark Pathy, a Canadian investor and philanthropist, and Eytan Stibbe, an Israeli businessman. The three will be supported by Michael López-Alegría, former NASA astronaut and Vice President of Axiom Space, who will serve as commander. Ticket price: $55 million, approximately 45 million euros.