New Delhi: After three days in orbit, the world’s first civilian mission from SpaceX’s Inspiration4 returned to Earth on Sunday. The crew on board the Dragon space probe reentered the earth’s atmosphere at 7:06 p.m. EDT (4:36 a.m. Sunday Indian time) for a soft water landing off the coast of Florida.
“Happy. Healthy. At home. Welcome back to earth,” said Inspiration4 in a tweet.
“Splashdown! Welcome back to planet Earth,” added SpaceX on the microblogging site.
The mission launched into orbit on Wednesday (Indian time Thursday) aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. It was commanded by tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman and supported by Medical Officer Haley Arceneaux, a medical assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and a survivor of childhood cancer. Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski, an Air Force veteran and aerospace data engineer; and mission pilot Dr. Sian Proctor, geoscientist, entrepreneur and trained pilot.
The fully automatic Dragon capsule reached an unusually high altitude of 585 kilometers, outperforming the International Space Station by 160 kilometers. The dragon dome window, inspired by the dome on the ISSl, gave the crew an incredible view of the earth.
“The kite performed a series of takeoff burns to leave the 575-kilometer circular orbit and then dropped its fuselage in front of the de-orbit burns. After re-entering the earth’s atmosphere, the spacecraft deployed its two drogue and four main parachutes “in preparation for the soft water landing,” the company announced on its website.
“We loved the room, but it’s great to be at home!” Isaacman wrote on Twitter.
“Absolutely the most incredible experience of my life. Cant wait to share more with all of you! Red Heart,” added Arceneaux.
“What a great adventure! I’m so happy to be home on earth and back with my family. There is so much to share! What an amazing @ inspiration4x team! Thank you @SpaceX! A Sembroski.
Inspiration4, which aimed to inspire humanity and raise money for St. Jude, surpassed “the 200 meter goal,” Isaacman shared in his tweet. Also read: Now Xiaomi phones will track earthquakes and send alerts in an emergency
Tech billionaire and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk also provided $ 50 million for the hospital, he wrote on Twitter. “Count me in for $ 50 million,” he tweeted. Also read: MG Astor on display in showrooms: check out the price and features of the technically advanced SUV
