Inspiration4
Inspiration4 (stylized as Inspirati④n) was a 2021 human spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. The mission launched the Crew Dragon Resilience on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39A atop a Falcon 9 launch vehicle. It placed the Dragon capsule into low Earth orbit with mission termination on 18 September 2021 at 23:06:49 UTC when Resilience splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean.
Launch of Inspiration4 on a Falcon 9 | |
| Mission type | Private spaceflight |
|---|---|
| Operator | SpaceX |
| COSPAR ID | 2021-084A |
| SATCAT no. | 49220 |
| Website | inspiration4 |
| Mission duration |
|
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Crew Dragon Resilience |
| Manufacturer | SpaceX |
| Launch mass | 12,519 kg (27,600 lb) |
| Landing mass | 9,616 kg (21,200 lb) |
| Crew | |
| Members | |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 16 September 2021, 00:02:56 UTC |
| Rocket | Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1062.3) |
| Launch site | Kennedy Space Center, LC-39A |
| Contractor | SpaceX |
| End of mission | |
| Recovered by | GO Searcher |
| Landing date | 18 September 2021, 23:06:49 UTC |
| Landing site | Atlantic Ocean |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Altitude | 585 km (364 mi) |
| Inclination | 51.6° |
| Period | 96.2 minutes |
| Inspiration4 mission patches (SpaceX patch on right) Proctor, Isaacman, Sembroski and Arceneaux | |
The trip was the first orbital spaceflight with only private citizens aboard and was part of a charitable effort on behalf of St. Jude's in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman was named mission commander. The hospital selected two commercial astronauts: Hayley Arceneaux and Christopher Sembroski. Shift4 selected Sian Proctor who was named pilot.
The mission overlapped with the 55th anniversary of Gemini 11, which in September 1966 had an apogee of approximately 1,368 km (850 mi), the highest Earth orbit ever reached on a crewed flight. The Inspiration4 flight reached an orbital altitude of approximately 585 km (364 mi), the highest achieved since STS-103 in 1999 and the fifth-highest Earth orbital human spaceflight overall. By comparison, the International Space Station is at 408 km (254 mi). The Inspiration4 mission concluded with the first crewed splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean since Apollo 9 in 1969.