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In Pics | SpaceX sends first all-civilian crew into orbit
A SpaceX rocket ship blasted off from Florida carrying a billionaire e-commerce executive and three less-wealthy private citizens he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit.
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A SpaceX rocket ship blasted off from Florida carrying a billionaire e-commerce executive and three less-wealthy private citizens he chose to join him in the first all-civilian crew ever launched into Earth orbit. (Image: Reuters)
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The quartet of amateur astronauts, led by the American founder and chief executive of financial services firm Shift4 Payments Inc (FOUR.N), Jared Isaacman, lifted off just before sunset from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 15. (Image: Reuters)
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The mission is aiming for a maximum orbital altitude of 360 miles above Earth, higher than the International Space Station or Hubble Space Telescope and the furthest any human has flown from Earth since NASA's Apollo moon program ended in 1972, according to SpaceX. (Image: Reuters)
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The flight, representing the first crewed mission to orbit with no professional astronauts, is expected to last about three days from launch to splashdown in the Atlantic, mission officials said. (Image: Reuters)
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It also marked the debut flight of SpaceX owner Elon Musk's new orbital tourism business, and a leap ahead of competitors likewise offering rides on rocket ships to customers willing to pay a small fortune for the exhilaration - and bragging rights - of spaceflight. (Image: Reuters)
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The mission, called Inspiration4, was conceived by Isaacman mainly to raise awareness and donations for one of his favorite causes, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a pediatric cancer center in Memphis, Tennessee. (Image: Reuters)
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The Inspiration4 crew has no part to play in flying the spacecraft, which is operated by ground-based flight teams and onboard guidance systems, even though two crew members are licensed pilots. (Image: Reuters)
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![While in orbit, the crew will perform a series of medical experiments with "potential applications for human health on Earth and during future spaceflights," the group said. (Image: Reuters)](https://images.moneycontrol.com/static-mcnews/2021/09/4-spacex-all-civilian-crew-launch.jpg "While in orbit, the crew will perform a series of medical experiments with "potential applications for human health on Earth and during future spaceflights," the group said. (Image: Reuters)")
While in orbit, the crew will perform a series of medical experiments with "potential applications for human health on Earth and during future spaceflights," the group said. (Image: Reuters)
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