SpaceX returned human spaceflight capabilities to the United States last year and is now preparing to launch the first all-civilian mission to space! The Inspiration4 mission will launch a crew of four civilians atop a Falcon 9 rocket aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft later this year. Inspiration4 was conceptualized by Shift4 Payments founder Jared Isaacman who dreams of going to space. He booked the space tour and decided to turn his flight into a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital that provides free treatment for cancer patients. Isaacman donated $100 million to St. Jude and is offering seats aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft “to individuals from the general public” who support St. Jude and Shift4 Payments. You can participate in a raffle to potentially go to space by donating to St. Jude and launching a business with Shift4 Shop through the Inspiration4.com website.
The world’s first all-civilian mission to space is already full of stars. Tune in during the first half of Super Bowl LV to experience a star-studded call to be a part of history. #SuperBowl #SBLV #Inspiration4 @Shift4Shop @StJude pic.twitter.com/TnLiVpKTqP
— Inspiration4 (@inspiration4x) February 5, 2021
Tonight, February 7 at 6:30 p.m. EST, the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers will compete during the Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Inspiration4 project released an inspiring video that will air as an advertisement during the football game to fundraise for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. "The world’s first all-civilian mission to space is already full of stars. Tune in during the first half of Super Bowl LV to experience a star-studded call to be a part of history," they announced. The advertisement will invite over 100 million Super Bowl LV viewers on a chance to win a seat aboard the first all-civilian mission to space. The commercial starts with the voice of actress Octavia Spencer inviting the viewer aboard the Inspiration4 mission as the British-Jamaican singer Celeste sings beautifully to a melody rendition of 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.' The Inspiration4 Super Bowl advertisement is directed by Bryce Dallas Howard and produced by Known, an Emmy Award winning marketing agency. You can watch the advertisement in the video below. This week, Known shared behind-the-scenes photos of the video production, and Isaacman shared photos of him getting fitted in a custom-made SpaceX spacesuit.
A little behind the scenes action from our Super Bowl spot airing today - loved partnering with @BryceDHoward @celeste @octaviaspencer and of course our amazing clients @Shift4Shop on this adventure pic.twitter.com/Qz4LWznLXS
— Known (@Knownis) February 7, 2021
Speaking of getting fitted for a spacesuit... pic.twitter.com/WhOjsOKfl8
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) February 5, 2021
Each Inspiration4 crewmember selected will personify the best traits of humanity: Leadership, Hope, Generosity, and Prosperity. Isaacman will represent ‘Leadership’ as a skilled pilot and mission commander. The seat representing ‘Hope’ is reserved for a St. Jude’s ambassador who survived childhood cancer and now works at the hospital. Isaacman shared that the employee is a woman –“and I know she's looking forward to the launch as much as me,” he said during a teleconference on Monday. The ‘Generosity’ seat will be raffled off to someone who donated to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital via Inspiration4.com. The ‘Prosperity’ seat will for a Shift4Payments user “who utilizes the new Shift4Shop eCommerce platform, which empowers entrepreneurs to build and grow successful eCommerce businesses online,” the company said in a statement. The winners that will be part of the Inspiration4 crew will be announced on February 28. SpaceX will train the civilians like astronauts to launch them to space in Autumn this year. During the historic voyage the Dragon spacecraft will orbit Earth once every 90 minutes as the crew enjoys stunning views of our planet for two or three days. Upon return Dragon will cross the atmosphere and perform a parachute-assisted splashdown in the ocean.
Featured Image Source: Inspiration4
About the Author
Evelyn Arevalo
Evelyn J. Arevalo joined Tesmanian in 2019 to cover news as a Space Journalist and SpaceX Starbase Texas Correspondent. Evelyn is specialized in rocketry and space exploration. The main topics she covers are SpaceX and NASA.
