SpaceX: Amateur astronauts launch on Inspiration4 mission
- by BBC
- Sep 15, 2021
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Mr Isaacman (nearest) shouted "Punch it, SpaceX!" moments before launch
The Inspiration4 crew of Jared Issacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski have had six months of intensive training with SpaceX. However, onboard computer systems will be in control of their Dragon capsule, overseen by SpaceX teams on the ground.
The Dragon is not going anywhere near the ISS. It's on a "free flight" to a target altitude of 575km (360 miles). That's about 150km above the orbiting laboratory, and roughly the height from where the Hubble Space Telescope views the cosmos.
Inspiration4 Elon Musk's vision is for humans to be living on Mars
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, is intent on making humans "a multi-planet species".
And Mr Isaacman regards Inspiration4 as a signpost of where things are going. He was very keen that his Dragon go higher than astronauts usually go. And not since the final shuttle servicing mission of Hubble in 2009 have people been to an altitude above 570km.
"We've been going to the space station (420km) for some time, and there's just unbelievable science and research and great contributions that are coming out of there. But if we're going to go to the Moon again, and we're going to go to Mars and beyond, we've got to get a little outside of our comfort zone and take that next step in that direction," he said before launch. "So that was really the rationale (for our choice of altitude)."
Some commentators have voiced concern about the collective impact on the Earth's climate of spaceflights like this one.
SpaceX's Falcon-9 rocket uses highly refined kerosene fuel which produces the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO₂), along with nitrogen oxides, which also contribute to warming. Emissions from rocket launches remain tiny compared with the aviation industry, though they are projected to grow.
SpaceX launch: What is SpaceX and why is it working with Nasa?
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