In a recent interview, CEO of SpaceX Elon Musk confirmed that four individuals will get a chance to aboard its SpaceX Crew Dragon craft to visit the International Space Station (ISS). The mission, dubbed Inspiration4 is scheduled to happen later this year, launching from the Kennedy Space Center as the “world’s first all-civilian mission”.

The main goal behind the mission is to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Leading the expedition is Shift4 Payments’ CEO and founder, Jared Isaacman, who is donating two of the three remaining seats on the spacecraft to members of the public. Isaccman has confirmed that one of the seats is “reserved for a St. Jude ambassador with direct ties to the mission.”

The remaining third and fourth seats will be decided on via an online competition running between February 1 and 28 of this year. The third seat is expected to open for a lucky contestant who has donated to St. Jude, while the fourth one is for either a new or existing customer of Isaacman’s Shift4Shop e-commerce platform. All crewmembers should “represent the mission pillars of leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity,” as SpaceX states.

SpaceX is planning to use Crew Dragon spacecraft, Resilience, which is currently docked at the International Space Station. Musk confirms that NASA is aware of the Inspiration4 mission “and is supportive.”

Posted by:Staff