SpaceX will fly four civilians into space later this year

Later this year, SpaceX will put four private individuals into space aboard one of its Crew Dragon craft. The company is calling the upcoming mission, dubbed, Inspiration4, “the world’s first all-civilian mission,” and it’s currently scheduled to launch from the Kennedy Space Center in the final quarter of the year.  

Leading the expedition is Shift4 Payments founder and CEO Jared Isaacman, who will act as its commander. One of the mission’s goals is to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. To that end, Isaacman is donating two of the three remaining seats on the craft to the public, and one of the ways to join Inspiration4 is by donating to the hospital. The other is by starting a Shift4Shop and sharing the story behind it on social media, while the final one will go to an ambassador from St. Jude. The multi-day journey around the Earth will eventually end off the coast of Florida.