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SpaceX’s all-civilian Inspiration4 space flight is coming to an end, and the company wants to make sure you see these final moments. The company is broadcasting live the return to Earth of its Crew Dragon capsule starting at 6:00 p.m. EST, with a scheduled landing in the Atlantic Ocean near Florida at 7:06 p.m. ET. You can watch the feed below.
The mission saw Shift4 leader Jared Isaacman and three other civilian crew members (Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor, and Chris Sembroski) conduct scientific research into the effects of spaceflight on the human body. It also served as a fundraising campaign for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which relies primarily on donations to advance cancer medicine.
This is the shortest busy Crew Dragon flight to date. The previous Demo-2, Crew-1, and Crew-2 missions were all scheduled to dock with the International Space Station and last between nine weeks and six months – Inspiration4’s three days are a blip in comparison. It’s not that SpaceX is complaining. This not only demonstrates the viability of sending civilian-only crews into space, but could serve as a sales pitch for customers who might only want a brief period in orbit.
Update 9/19 8:40 am ET: As expected, the Crew Dragon capsule splashed without a hitch.
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