Inspiration4 Crew Completed World’s First All-Civilian Orbital Mission to Space

Kennedy Space Center, FL, September 18, 2021 – After three days orbiting Earth, the astronauts of Inspiration4 flying aboard SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft safely splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Kennedy Space Center, Florida, at 7:06 p.m. EDT.

The return marks the completion of the world’s first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit, which launched on a flight-proven SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021.

Splashdown! Welcome back to planet Earth, @Inspiration4x! pic.twitter.com/94yLjMBqWt

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 18, 2021

Teams on SpaceX’s Go Searcher recovery ship are in the process of securing the spacecraft to be hoisted onto the main deck of the ship, where the Inspiration4 crew will egress the spacecraft and receive medical checks before a helicopter ride back to Kennedy Space Center.

The mission completed several historic firsts, including the:

· First all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit

· First black female spacecraft pilot

· Youngest American in space

· First person to fly to space with a prosthetic

· Farthest flight for a human spaceflight since the Hubble missions

· First time SpaceX has operated three Dragons in space

· First free-flight of a Dragon spacecraft on a human spaceflight mission

· Largest contiguous window ever flown in space

· First splashdown of a Dragon crew in the Atlantic Ocean

· First thrice-flown Falcon 9 booster to launch a human spaceflight mission

Finally, true to the mission’s name and purpose, Inspriation4 has raised nearly $154M dollars and counting for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

About Inspiration4

Inspiration4 is the world’s first all-civilian mission to orbit. The mission was commanded by Jared Isaacman, the 38-year-old founder and Chief Executive Officer of Shift4 Payments and an accomplished pilot and adventurer. Inspiration4 left Earth from Kennedy Space Center’s historic Launch Complex 39A, the embarkation point for Apollo and Space Shuttle missions, and traveled across a low earth orbit on a multi-day journey that continually eclipsed more than 90% of the Earth’s population. Named in recognition of the four-person crew that raised awareness and funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, this milestone represents a new era for human spaceflight and exploration.

Courtesy of Inspiration4.com