RT.com
19 Sep 2021, 04:43 GMT+10
SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule has splashed down in the Atlantic ocean off the Florida coast, successfully bringing back to Earth a quartet of ?amateur astronauts? who spent three days in orbit.
The spacecraft, dubbed Resilience, parachuted into the sea shortly after 7pm ET. A fleet of SpaceX rescue ships was deployed nearby to pick up the craft and its crew.
The Inspiration4 made history as the world's first 'all-civilian' space mission, and marked SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's debut in the space tourism industry. Though none of the crew are professional astronauts, all have undergone months of training to prepare them for the rigors of the mission.
The crew included commander Jared Isaacman, an American billionaire who privately funded the launch as part of a campaign to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, as well as pilot Sian Proctor, medical officer Hayley Arceneaux and mission specialist Chris Sembroski.
The quartet orbited the Earth for three days at an altitude of 575km (360 miles), around 150km higher than the International Space Station.
Inspiration4 follows two high-profile private space flights in July by Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezos and Virgin magnate Richard Branson. Bezos flew to the edge of the Earth's atmosphere aboard the New Shepard rocket and capsule, designed by his company, Blue Origin. Branson, who beat Bezos to launch by little over a week, flew a lower suborbital flight aboard Virgin Galactic's Unity 22 spaceplane.
However, neither Bezos nor Branson actually orbited the Earth during their flights, thus Inspiration4 is the first fully private mission to carry humans into orbital space, a domain that was once the sole preserve of the world's superpowers.
(RT.com)
Get a daily dose of Beijing Bulletin news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Beijing Bulletin.
More InformationSAN FRANCISCO, California: A U.S. lawmaker wants to introduce a new law that would help track where advanced AI computer chips, like...
DUBLIN, Ireland: TikTok has been hit with a 530 million euros (US$601.3 million) fine by Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC)...
Dubai [UAE], May 9 (ANI/WAM): The Dubai Electronic Security Centre (DESC) concluded its successful participation at GISEC Global 2025...
Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], May 9 (ANI): Kolkata's Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port issued a directive to heighten its security on Friday,...
New Delhi [India], May 9 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday convened a high-level meeting with the Managing...
New Delhi [India], May 9 (ANI): The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has launched 500 Online ATAL Faculty Development...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: The European Union is preparing to unveil a detailed plan to reduce its reliance on Russian gas, including a proposal...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: U.S. food delivery giant DoorDash will acquire British rival Deliveroo in a US$3.85 billion deal, the companies...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks were weaker Friday as investors and traders continued to fret over U.S. President Donald Trump's trade...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: A U.S. lawmaker wants to introduce a new law that would help track where advanced AI computer chips, like...
EAST HARTFORD, Connecticut: Roughly 3,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers began striking...
CHICAGO, Illinois: United Airlines will begin canceling around 35 daily flights—roughly 10 percent of its schedule—from Newark Liberty...