On Monday, SpaceX announced plans for the first all-civilian mission to space in late 2021. The mission will be a days long orbit of the Earth, to be led by finance company executive and pilot Jared Isaacman. Isaacman has purchased a four-person mission in the SpaceX Dragon capsule Resilience to launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. He expects a mission duration ranging from two to four days. Isaacman pledged to donate $100 million to Memphis-based St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in connection with the space flight. Isaacman also promised to hold a raffle for one of the four seats on the Dragon mission — to prompt efforts to raise $200 million for the hospital.
Elon Musk said during a news conference Monday evening that the mission is “an important milestone toward enabling access to space for everyone because at first things are very expensive, and as only through missions like this that we’re able to bring the cost down over time and make space accessible.”
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