Assistant Editor Amanda Yeo is an Assistant Editor at Mashable, covering entertainment, culture, tech, science, and social good. Based in Australia, she writes about everything from video games and K-pop to movies and gadgets. Sign Me Up By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up! This isn't the first time civilians have been shot into space, but it is the first time they've reached orbit. While Virgin Group billionaire Sir Richard Branson and Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos famously boarded private rockets earlier this year, the Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin space flights were suborbital and only scraped the edge of space for a few scant minutes. In contrast, the Inspiration4's crew are expected to remain in orbit at an altitude of 360 miles for three days, circumnavigating the globe once every 90 minutes. The amateur astronauts will also have a spectacular view while they're up there. As the Crew Dragon won't need to connect to any space stations, the docking port at its nose has been replaced with a domed window for this mission. Once the space ride is over the Inspiration4's crew will hurtle back to Earth and splash down somewhere off Florida's coast. The Inspiration4's launch fortunately went smoothly. Credit: spacex