SpaceX first space tourism flight is successfully launched into space without a professional astronaut on board. The flight carried four civilians into orbit including; an entrepreneur, a childhood cancer survivor, and two sweepstake winners.
SpaceX first space tourism flight will stay in space for three days
According to SpaceX; “The Crew Dragon capsule will spend three days circling Earth before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida.” The tourists will fly at an altitude of about 357 miles (575 km), which SpaceX says is the highest human spaceflight since missions to repair the Hubble telescope in 2009.
The three-day journey will see free-floating flight whipping around the planet once every 90 minutes while the passengers float and witness the panoramic views of different planets. There will be no sleeping compartments or even separate work areas. The crew will have to sleep in the same reclining seats they will ride in during launch. As for food, the tourists will chow down on cold pizza, the capsule is stocked with enough food and supplies for about a week.
Read more: Elon Musk is Launching a Satellite that will Livestream Ads from Space
How much did the mission cost?
The cost of one seat is anticipated to be priced around $250 million, although, exact figures have not been released. One of the major goals of the mission is to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, through a contest, to join the trip and the sale of memorabilia after the flight. So far, the mission’s organizers say they have raised $128 million but they are aiming at $200 million.
The mission is extra dangerous because of the inherent risks of sending a spacecraft more than 17,500 miles per hour into space. It is even risky than the brief, up-and-down suborbital trips made by billionaires Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson.
Source: NBC News
