This is how tourists prepare for a 1:14 space mission
(CNN Business) -
Four people will return from a three-day space excursion aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, signaling that the final, perhaps most dangerous, leg of their mission looms.
Inspiration4's return scheduled for this Saturday night will mark the end of the first flight to Earth orbit made entirely by tourists or non-astronauts.
The four crewmembers will re-enter Earth's atmosphere aboard the SpaceX Dragon capsule before it deploys its parachutes and dives off the coast of Florida on Saturday night.
The reentry process will involve the spacecraft - which has traveled at more than 17,358 kilometers per hour for the past three days - plunging back into Earth's thick atmosphere, a process that heats the vehicle's exterior to 1,926 degrees Celsius.
Inspiration4: SpaceX takes four civilians into space on a three-day trip
The capsule is then expected to deploy two sets of parachutes in rapid succession to slow its descent before hitting the ocean.
A fleet of SpaceX rescue craft will be nearby, ready to lift the capsule out of the water and bring its passengers to safety.
During a Netflix documentary on the Inspiration4 mission, Musk described a capsule going through reentry as "like a flaming meteor entering".
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"That's why it's hard not to vaporize," he added.
After that, the Crew Dragon has to deploy its parachutes to slow its descent and make a safe splashdown before the rescue boats can carry the four passengers back to dry land.
Despite the risks, a former NASA chief and professional safety officials have said the Crew Dragon is probably the safest manned vehicle ever flown.
Inspiration4: What makes this space mission so special?
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Four civilians return home
Among the passengers is 38-year-old billionaire Jared Isaacman, who personally financed and organized the trip with SpaceX and its CEO, Elon Musk;
Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a childhood cancer survivor and physician assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital;
Sian Procotor, 51, geologist and community college teacher with a doctorate;
and Chris Sembroski, a 42-year-old Lockheed Martin employee and lifelong space fanatic who claimed his seat through an online giveaway.
Isaacman announced that Inspiration4's mission is to raise money for St. Jude, and so far US $ 153 million of the US $ 200 million goal has been raised.
Although they are not the first tourists to travel to orbit, their mission, called Inspiration4, is notable in that it did not involve a stay on the International Space Station (ISS) under the mentorship of professional astronauts, as they have. previous missions with space tourists.
Space tourism: the differences between the missions of SpaceX, Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin
Rather, the four spaceflight rookies have spent the past two days flying freely aboard their 3.9-meter-wide capsule at an altitude of about 563 kilometers, 160 kilometers higher than where the ISS is, and more. than any human has flown in decades.
And while the crew spent about six months training and getting to know each other, they didn't have to go through NASA's grueling screening processes or the physical and psychological evaluations that most professional astronauts do.
"They also have to prepare for worst-case scenarios, such as someone from the crew becoming a danger to themselves or others," said Axios reporter Miriam Kramer, who followed the crew during their training process, on the podcast "How It Happened" about this mission.
"There are ties and medications on board in case someone needs to be sedated."
This is how four space tourists will live for 3 days 1:38
The crew from space
However, so far there have been no indications that anything has gone wrong with the crew or their vehicle.
During their time in space, civilians on board said they would do some scientific research focused on how their bodies respond to being in space, take the time to chat with their families, look out of a large dome-shaped window. and they would listen to music.
The Inspiration4 Twitter account also shared images of Arceneaux speaking with his St. Jude patients, and Isaacman rang the closing bell for the New York Stock Exchange via satellite on Friday afternoon.
SpaceX Inspiration4 Shares First Images From Space
Other than that, very few updates were shared with the public while the crew was in orbit.
The first live audio or images from inside the crew capsule were shared on Friday afternoon, nearly two days after its launch.
SpaceX, as has been standard for the company for more than a year, did not respond to inquiries from journalists.
During previous SpaceX missions - which flew for NASA and took professional astronauts to the International Space Station - the public has had more information.
The space agency and its dozens of communications personnel have worked with SpaceX to share virtually every moment of the journey from launch until the astronauts dock at the International Space Station.
But this mission left the public in the dark when asked about the crew's schedule and how they felt while in orbit.
Although the development of the Crew Dragon spacecraft was largely funded by taxpayers and SpaceX rents out NASA facilities to support all of its missions, Inspiration4 is considered a private commercial mission.
That means that the company and the passengers have few transparency requirements.
The public may not even hear from the tourists after they land on Saturday night.
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Inspiration4, the first orbital flight manned entirely by tourists, took off successfully on 15 September.
Credit: Inspiration4 / John Kraus
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This photo is titled "First Day in Space" that shows Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski from the Dragon ship.
Credit: Inspiration4 / SpaceX
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The crew is orbiting Earth every 90 minutes along a custom 575 km flight path.
Credit: Inspiration4 / SpaceX
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The Dragon has a height of 8.1 meters, a diameter of 4 meters, a load capacity of 165 kilograms and a dome at its tip that offers spectacular views of the Earth.
Credit: Inspiration4 / SpaceX
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By their second day, the crew had experienced more than 25 sunrises and 25 sunsets.
Credit: Inspiration4 / SpaceX
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After three days in orbit, Dragon will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for a water landing off the coast of Florida this Saturday.
Credit: Inspiration4 / John Kraus.
There could be a number of reasons why space tourists were shy during their journey.
It is possible, for example, that the crew did not feel as well after reaching orbit for the first time.
According to a NASA research article, "many astronauts report symptoms of motion sickness right after their arrival in space and again just after returning to Earth" and getting a good night's sleep in orbit is "also a serious challenge. for many crew members aboard shuttle missions. " It is also possible that the four rookie space explorers wanted their privacy or just to enjoy the experience without having to stop to talk about it.
But rave reviews of your experience could be crucial.
SpaceX hopes this mission will be the first of many similar ones, creating a new line of business for the company in which it uses the Crew Dragon to conduct business missions with tourists or private investigators rather than just professional astronauts.
SpaceX already has contracts for five other private missions, as well as at least four additional missions contracted by NASA.
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