Alone in orbit at 500 kilometers altitude for 4 days. They will be the protagonists of the first all-tourist space mission scheduled for September 15.
The four civilian astronauts who will be the protagonists of the first all-tourist space mission have also passed the last medical tests. They are therefore ready for their Sept. 15 departure among the stars. The group, aboard Space X's Crew Dragon capsule, will remain in orbit at an altitude of 500 kilometers for four days without any guidance from "professionals". They will also go higher than the International Space Station.
Medical tests passed
In the last few days, the crew, consisting of two women and two men, completed medical examinations and did tests with spacesuits. The four also visited the Crew Dragon capsule, which for the particular trip on Sept. 15 has been modified from the usual missions that then involve docking with the Space Station. The bow of the capsule that normally serves as a hatchway, through which we communicate with the Iss, has been modified with a large porthole from which to look out to observe the beauty of the Earth seen from space. To leave for the "vacation" among the stars are the commander Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski.
The launch is scheduled with a Falcon 9, the group will remain autonomously in the cosmos and can admire the spectacle of the surrounding environment through the "window" installed just for the occasion. The mission has been called Inspiration4 and it is not the first space tourism mission, but for complexity and duration it is considered by media and operators a more complete experiment that opens the doors to this new market. Regarding missions with civilians in space, recently Jeff Bezos with his brother Mark and two other people aboard the Blue Origin, and Richard Branson with the Virgin Galactic project have already left. In both cases there were also professional astronauts on the rockets, unlike the 4 leaving in mid-September.
The Inspiration 4 mission will be exceptionally documented by Netflix, which will follow the group in space almost live. The documentary is called Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, and will also be available to subscribers in Italy.
Stefania Bernardini