The SpaceX rocket takes off with four astronauts

The Falcon 9 rocket illuminated night and fireball from the iconic launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 8:02 p.m., local time.

A few minutes later, the first and second stages of the rocket were separated, leaving the Dragon Capsule and its passengers alone in the universe.

The Crew Dragon Capsule has been redesigned to include a unique dome-shaped window that allows Inspiration 4 crew members to view the ship’s exterior 360-degree view.

Photo: SpaceX

Some have been there before and many will follow. The door now opens, and it’s amazingMission Commander Billionaire Jared Isaacman said from inside the capsule after reaching space.

They will have to travel 575 km more in orbit than the International Space Station (ISS). They travel around the world about 15 times each day.

Democratize the space

This mission, called Inspiration 4, is a step towards democratizing space, proving that the universe is not limited to hand-selected and trained astronauts over the years.

After the arrival of Elon Musk, the boss of SpaceX and Tesla, the four passengers boarded the white Tesla at 4pm local time, under the applause of the sun and a small crowd, and then joined the building where they were. Customized jumpsuit.

Then they came back to the launch pad, climbed on board, and after a series of system tests, the capsule hatch closed.

Four space tourists

The task was chartered by Jared Isaacman, 38, an experienced pilot and owner of a financial services company. The price he paid for SpaceX was not released, but tens of millions of dollars. He will be the captain on the ship and has given three more seats to strangers.

Haley Arsenox, a 29-year-old medical assistant who survived child cancer. The youngest American to go into space, and the first person to have a prosthesis.

Chris Chembroski, 42, a former U.S. Air Force employee, now works in the aviation industry.

Finally, Xian Proctor, a 51-year-old professor of Earth Sciences, was selected in about 2009 to become a NASA astronaut.

She was the only fourth African American woman to go into space.

Four American astronauts aboard SpaceX’s Dragon capsule.

Photo: A.P.

At the end of their journey, they begin a dizzying descent to land in Florida.

As for SpaceX, this is the first step towards multicultural humanity – the final vision of Elon Musk.

This is just the beginningJared Isaacman told a news conference Tuesday.

Is under surveillance

On board, their biological data (heart rate, sleep, etc.) and their cognitive abilities will be analyzed. They will also perform tests to measure the effect on the body before and after the trip.

With the glass dome installed for the first time on the Dragon they can enjoy an amazing view.

Their training lasted only about six months. The aircraft was expected to be fully automatic, but crews were trained by SpaceX to take control in an emergency.

To prepare, they undertook a trek in the snow at an altitude of more than 3000 meters, and supported a centrifugal (long arm in rapid rotation) and the power of jets.

The work also serves as a lever for a major fundraising campaign for a pediatric hospital in St. Jude (Memphis, Tennessee), where Haley works after being treated as a child of Arsenox. There are a variety of items on board (Ukulele, 30kg of hops flavored with beer in space on Earth …) and then auctioned off.

Final boundary

The mission marks the end of a summer that marked the flight of millionaires last summer: first on Richard Branson on July 11, aboard the Virgin Galactic, and then a few days later with Jeff Bezos, his company Blue Origin. But these sorbital planes were delivered for only a few minutes at zero gravity.

Tourists have already gone into orbit: rich personalities, for example, were on Russian rockets between 2001 and 2009.

But today the advent of private enterprise projects marks a turning point.

Inspiration 4’s take-off reminds us of what we can achieve when we partner with the private industryNASA President Bill Nelson tweeted Wednesday.

SpaceX has already sent three astronauts to ISS on behalf of NASA. Next, from January 2022, with three entrepreneurs.