The first all-civilian human spaceflight to orbit launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida today with a special member of the crew.
Hayley Arcenaux will make history as the youngest American, the first with a prosthesis, and the first pediatric cancer survivor in space.
She says, “Having cancer made me tough and in a way it prepared me to go to space.”
The 29 year old is one of four soon-to-be-astronauts on Inspiration 4’s first all-civilian crewed mission to space
According to Arcenaux, “Until now astronauts have had to be physically perfect and so I’m so grateful that this mission is opening space travel up to everyone.”
The mission’s goal? To raise awareness and funds for St Jude’s children’s research hospital.
Not only will they travels hundreds of miles higher than billionaires Richard Branson and Jeff Bezos recent trips to space, they will also orbit the earth for three days.
Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman, who purchased the trip from SpaceX, will lead the mission and says, “It is the first time that a global superpower hasn’t sent people up into orbital space, and I think that should send a message of all the things to come.”
The other 3 civilians on the Inspiration4 mission are a physician’s assistant, a geoscience professor and an engineer.