A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Kennedy Space Center Wednesday Sept. 15, 2021. Aboard the rocket is the Inspiration4 crew, the first all-civilian crew to fly in space. Mandatory Credit: Craig Bailey/FLORIDA TODAY via USA TODAY NETWORK Space X Inspiration4 Launch
Syndication: Florida Today
New York, NY (77WABC)- Space X launched its first private mission last night around 8pm with the Falcon 9 Rocket briefly launching into space with private citizens, instead of astronauts, for the very first time.
Roughly nine minutes after liftoff, Falcon 9’s first stage booster returned to Earth for a landing on a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.
The mission served as a multimillion dollar fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital- it hasn’t been disclosed how much each citizen paid to partake in the mission, but its been said that each seat is $55 million dollars.
The mission was a success and engineer and livestream anchor Andy Tran, stated “The Dragon capsule and crew are in a nominal orbit.” A live camera from inside the capsule showed the crew waving and giving double thumbs up- suddenly Manhattan night life is looking pretty boring!
