Pioneering Explorers Reach New Heights with Historic Circumnavigation of Earth's Polar Regions
SpaceX's Crew-2 Space Tourists Splash Down at Earth's Poles
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying four space tourists safely splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, on Sunday, marking the end of a 10-day journey to the edge of space.
The spacecraft, dubbed "Fram2," was carrying a group of private citizens who paid a reported $55 million each to experience the thrill of space travel. The tourists, who are part of a program called "Inspiration4," include Jared Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur and pilot; Sian Proctor, a geologist and astronautical engineer; Chris Sembroski, a data engineer; and Hayley Arceneaux, a physician assistant and former NASA intern.
The Crew-2 spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 15 and reached an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers), just shy of the Karman line, which marks the beginning of space. During their journey, the tourists experienced weightlessness, witnessed the curvature of the Earth, and saw the blackness of space.
The spacecraft's splashdown was a controlled descent, with the Crew Dragon's heat shield and parachutes slowing it down before it hit the water. The tourists were safely extracted from the spacecraft and taken aboard a recovery ship, where they will be debriefed and begin their journey back to Earth.
The Inspiration4 program is a privately funded effort to take people to space and raise awareness and funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The program's goal is to use space travel as a way to inspire and educate people about the importance of STEM education and the wonders of space exploration.
The successful splashdown of the Crew-2 spacecraft marks a major milestone for SpaceX, which has been working to develop its Crew Dragon program to take people to space. The company has already successfully launched several crewed missions to the International Space Station and is planning to send its first human mission to the moon in the near future.