Jared Isaacman discusses upcoming Inspiration4 Mission aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon [VIDEO]

Jared Isaacman, founder and chief executive of Shift4 Payments, booked a voyage to space aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft. The 37-year-old is turning his space voyage into a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that provides free treatment to cancer patients. Isaacman donated $100 Million to St. Jude and is offering the general public the opportunity to participate in a fundraising raffle to win a seat to go on a space adventure with him. The mission is called ‘Inspiration4’, it will be the first all-civilian space flight in history, scheduled to liftoff during the fourth quarter this year.

During a great interview with YouTube channel The Launch Pad, Isaacman discussed the upcoming Inspiration4 mission and how the public can participate to potentially win a seat aboard Crew Dragon to see Earth from space (video below). Isaacman shared he had been trying to book a flight to space for over a decade, he never thought he would actually create the first civilian mission, “In any first… you just have to be very thoughtful about what the mission is going to represent, so, in this case we are trying to put a lot of thought in who the crewmembers will be and the message they will send to the world and how they will deliver inspiration both in space and here on Earth,” he said. Inspiration4 crewmembers will represent Leadership, Hope, Generosity, and Prosperity. “The crew selection process is one of the coolest things,” Isaacman said, “We are making it available to every day people.” He will represent ‘Leadership’ as a skilled pilot and mission commander. Isaacman told The Launch Pad that the seat representing ‘Hope’ is reserved for a St. Jude’s ambassador who is a woman. “We are keeping her name a secret for now, she is a frontline worker at St. Jude, actually, a cancer survivor herself, treated at St. Jude.”

There are two crewmember seats available to the public “and the way you get involved is go to the Inspiration4.com mission website, you can make a donation to a really incredible cause which is St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital,” Isaacman said, “And at the end of the month through a random selection process we’re gonna’ pick a seat member that will represent the mission pillar seat ‘Generosity.’” The selection process will take place on February 28. The ‘Prosperity’ seat is open for someone who launches a Shift4Shop website. “Make a web page ... record a video and you share it on social media and you tell the world about your business idea… why it should be elevated to the stars, how you’re going to make a difference,” Isaacman said. A panel of judges will select who the contest winner is in mid-March. You can learn more about Isaacman and the Inspiration4 mission in the video below, courtesy of The Launch Pad via YouTube.

Did you see it? @inspiration4x @Shift4Shop just had their #SuperBowl commercial! We sat down with Jared Isaacman, the Commander of #Inspiration4 to talk about the mission &how you can #gotospace!

Check it out -> https://t.co/tqbkLdID0v#spacex #superbowlad #nasa @rookisaacman

— TheLaunchPad (@TLPN_Official) February 8, 2021