St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Tag: St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

SpaceX Civilian Passengers Heading Into Space This Year

April 18, 2021
ExoNews Editor

Article by Anthony Cuthbertson April 2, 2021 (msn.com)

• In the autumn of 2021, Jared Isaacman will sponsor and participate in the first-ever ‘all civilian’ three days in orbit commercial ‘Inspiration4 mission’ on a SpaceX Dragon rocket. Isaacman, 38, is himself a pilot and will serve as spacecraft commander.

• On Earth, Isaacman is the head of Shift4 Payments, a credit card-processing company in Allentown, Pennsylvania. He is covering the bill for what will be SpaceX’s first private flight, while raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman is donating $100 million to St. Jude. A lottery was created to offer other donors a chance to fly in space, raising another $13 million.

• In addition to the previously announced passenger Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a St. Jude physician assistant who was treated there as a child for bone cancer, two others were chosen by lottery. They are: Ms. Sian Proctor, 51, a college instructor and space art artist from Tempe, Arizona chosen by a panel of judges, and Mr. Chris Sembroski, 41, a former Air Force missileman from Everett Washington and Space Camp counsellor who took the place of a friend who declined to fly for personal reasons

• Proctor applied three times to Nasa’s astronaut corps, coming close in 2009, and took part in simulated Mars missions in Hawaii. She was born in Guam where her father worked at NASA’s tracking station for the Apollo mission moonshots. She plans to teach from space and create art up there, too. “To me, everything that I’ve done… has brought me to this moment,” she said.

• Their SpaceX Dragon capsule will launch no earlier than mid-September, aiming for an altitude of 335 miles. That’s about 75 miles higher than the International Space Station, on the same level with the Hubble Space Telescope.

• The next-generation SpaceX Dragon spacecraft is still undergoing testing and is yet to land successfully after flying to a high altitude. But other SpaceX flights using the craft are expected to follow the Inspiration4 mission before Elon Musk’s company begins commercial operations of its Starship vehicle.

• Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa has already reserved the first Starship tickets for a trip around the Moon scheduled for 2023.

SpaceX has revealed the final members of its civilian crew who will take part in the

first-ever commercial space flight later this year.

The new passengers are Sian Proctor, a community college educator in Tempe, Arizona and Chris Sembroski, a former Air Force missileman from Everett Washington. They will join flight sponsor Jared Isaacman and another passenger for three days in orbit this autumn.

Mr Isaacman also revealed some details about his Inspiration4 mission, as the four gathered at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Center this

week. He’s head of Shift4 Payments, a credit card-processing company in Allentown,

Pennsylvania, and is paying for what would be SpaceX’s first private flight while raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

Their SpaceX Dragon capsule will launch no earlier than mid-September, aiming for an altitude of 540 kilometres (335 miles). That’s 120 kilometres higher than the International Space Station and on a level with the Hubble Space Telescope.

Mr Isaacman, 38, a pilot who will serve as spacecraft commander, did not reveal how much he’s paying. He’s donating $100 million to St. Jude, while donors so far have contributed $13 million, primarily through the lottery that offered a chance to fly in space.

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Success of Private Space Companies Helps US Secure Space Domain

February 22, 2021
ExoNews Editor

Article by Amanda Mcias and Michael Sheetz February 3, 2021 (cnbc.com)

• Despite fears that the Covid-19 pandemic would slow this past decade’s momentum, private investment in space companies set a record in 2002. Space Capital reported that builders of rockets and satellites brought in $8.9 billion last year, and venture capital investors continued to pour funds into space businesses.

• “There is a ton of excitement across America on space in all sectors,” said General John Raymond, the US Space Force’s chief of operations. Raymond confirmed that Wall Street has invested billions in the space industry. This in turn has sparked renewed interest in space commerce and recruitment in Space Force.

• There are “people…wanting to come into the Space Force in numbers greater than what we have slots to fill. [U]niversities are seeing more students apply for space STEM degrees. I think is going to be great for our nation,” Raymond said. “I’m excited about all of it, both what we’re doing here on national security and what’s going on in the commercial industry that we can leverage the advantage.” “[W]e are stronger with a secure and stable space domain and all of those sectors play into that.”

• Space Force has increasingly looked to partner with the private space industry sector. The Pentagon is closely watching the progress of rocket builders like Rocket Lab, Astra and Virgin Orbit in addition to SpaceX.

• SpaceX announced this month that it will fly its first all-civilian crew into orbit later this year, a mission known as Inspiration 4. The landmark flight, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is aimed at using high-profile space tourism to raise support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Three yet-to-be-announced passengers will accompany Isaacman on the multiday journey around the Earth, with two of the seats to be decided in public online competitions this month.

• Raymond noted that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully achieved the first operational launch of NASA’s Crew-1 mission, although SpaceX’s Starship rocket test flight on February 2nd was not so successful.

WASHINGTON – The nation’s top general leading the U.S. military mission in space said Wednesday that he is excited about Wall

Street and billionaire investment in the space industry, which has sparked renewed interest in the field among Americans and strong recruitment at the Pentagon’s youngest branch.

“There is a ton of excitement across America on space in all sectors,” said Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force’s chief of operations, when asked by CNBC about the strides made by private space companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

“I’ve talked about people knocking on our door wanting to come into the Space Force in numbers greater than what we have slots to fill. I’ve talked in the past about how universities are seeing more students apply for space STEM degrees, which I think is going to be great for our nation,” Raymond added.

“I’m excited about all of it, both what we’re doing here on national security and what’s going on in the commercial industry that we can leverage the advantage,” the four-star general said without specifically naming any companies.

“The U.S. has always, has long understood that we are stronger with a secure and stable space domain and all of those sectors play into that,” Raymond said.

The U.S. Space Force, the Pentagon’s youngest branch, has increasingly looked to partner with the private sector as companies and investors pour into the space industry. The Pentagon is closely watching the progress of rocket builders like Rocket Lab, Astra and Virgin Orbit in addition to SpaceX.

Raymond’s comments came on the heels of SpaceX announcing this week that it will fly its first all-civilian crew into orbit later this year, a mission known as Inspiration 4.

The landmark flight, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is aimed at using high-profile space tourism to raise support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Three yet-to-be-announced passengers will accompany Isaacman on the multiday journey around the Earth, with two of the seats to be decided in public online competitions this month.

Raymond also called out NASA’s Crew-1 mission, which was the first operational launch of SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.

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