Space X: successful return to Earth for the first space tourism mission

SpaceX's first four space tourists landed in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida on Saturday evening after spending three days in space, successfully completing the first orbital mission in history to include no professional astronaut on board.

The Dragon capsule resisted the vertiginous descent thanks to its heat shield, then was slowed down by four huge parachutes.

The water landing took place on time, just after 11 p.m. GMT (7 p.m. on the US East Coast), according to a video broadcast from Elon Musk's company.

“It was a hell of a trip for us, and it's just getting started,” Billionaire Jared Isaacman captain said shortly after.

A SpaceX ship then retrieved the capsule.

The four passengers, smiling from ear to ear, exited one by one.

They were then to be transported by helicopter to the Kennedy Space Center, from where they had taken off on Wednesday evening, and where they were to be reunited with their families.

“Congratulations, Inspiration4,” SpaceX boss Elon Musk tweeted after the landing, using the official name of the mission.

Happy.

Healthy.

Home.

Welcome back to Earth, @ArceneauxHayley, @rookisaacman, @DrSianProctor, and @ChrisSembroski! # Inspiration4's mission doesn't end here - help us reach our $ 200 million fundraising goal for @StJude!

https://t.co/NBUL2e3f4x pic.twitter.com/hhNQydWVJJ

- Inspiration4 (@ inspiration4x) September 19, 2021

The four Americans traveled farther than the International Space Station (ISS), up to 590 km above sea level.

Speeding at around 28,000 km / h, they circled the globe more than 15 times each day.

The stated goal of the mission was to mark a turning point in the democratization of space, by proving that the cosmos is also accessible to crews who have not been handpicked and trained for years, as are the astronauts. .

"Welcome to the second space age," Todd "Leif" Ericson, head of the Inspiration4 mission, told a press conference on Saturday.

With the latter, "space travel becomes much more accessible to ordinary people," he said.

Jared Isaacman, 38, boss of a financial services firm, paid SpaceX tens and tens of millions of dollars (the exact price has not been revealed).

He had offered three seats to strangers, including Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old medical assistant, who became the youngest American, but also the first person with a prosthesis (femur), to have gone to space.

Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old earth science professor, and Chris Sembroski, a 42-year-old US Air Force alumnus, completed the crew.

Fully automated flight and six month training

Prior to the trip, their training had lasted less than six months.

The flight remained fully automated, but they had been trained to be able to take control when needed.

Once up there, they notably collected data (heart rate, sleep, oxygen saturation in the blood, cognitive abilities, etc.) which should allow them to better understand the effect of the spatial environment on beginners.

The mission also serves as a huge fundraiser for the pediatric hospital of St Jude (Memphis, Tennessee), where Hayley Arceneaux works after being treated there as a child of cancer.

In the vessel were various objects (ukulele…) which must now be auctioned for the benefit of the hospital.

About $ 160 million has been raised so far, including $ 100 million donated by Jared Isaacman.

Inspiration4 concludes a summer marked by the flight of billionaires over the last frontier, but who only offered a few minutes in weightlessness.