The first rocket with only “Space Tourist” returns safely | science and planet

Four large parachutes slowed the capsule’s descent before it descended into the water. The boats immediately set off to retrieve the craft.

The spacecraft, carrying four civilians on board, took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. In all, the members of the “Inspiration4” mission circled the Earth for three days, at a distance of up to 590 kilometers at a speed of about 28,000 kilometers per hour. Each day, space tourists saw up to 15 sunrises and sunsets.

The passengers were ordinary individuals without a professional or institutional astronaut orbiting our planet for the first time. They were 38-year-old billionaire Jared Isaacman – a civilian pilot who also has experience in combat aircraft and served as mission commander – and 29-year-old civilian pilot and geology professor Sian Proctor. Arsenault — a medical assistant at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee — and 42-year-old data engineer Chris Sembrowski.

During their trip, the four performed some health experiments that SpaceX, among others, paid for. In addition, they set up activities for the care of St. Jude’s Hospital.

The rocket was farther from the Earth’s surface than the International Space Station, which orbits the Earth at 420 kilometers.

4 tourists go to space alone. Can they? Our expert explains

A SpaceX rocket with only civilians on board successfully in orbit on a three-day spaceflight

Virgin Galactic has postponed the first commercial research flight into space until October