(Washington) The first four space tourists from SpaceX returned to Earth on Saturday evening after spending three days in space, capping the first orbital mission in history with no professional astronaut on board.
The Dragon capsule resisted the vertiginous descent thanks to its heat shield, then was slowed down by four huge parachutes. The landing in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida, took place on schedule, 11:06 p.m. GMT (7:06 p.m. local time).
“It was a hell of a trip for us, and it’s only just begun,” said the captain, billionaire Jared Isaacman, shortly after landing, whose goal was to open the doors a little further. space.
PHOTO THOM BAUR, REUTERS
The Falcon 9 rocket during takeoff from the mission last Wednesday.
A SpaceX ship then retrieved the capsule, before the hatch was opened. The four passengers, sporting ear-to-ear smiles and waving their arms in the air in joy, then exited one by one.
They were then to be transported by helicopter to the Kennedy Space Center, from where they had taken off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Wednesday evening, and where they will be reunited with their families.
“Congratulations, Inspiration4,” SpaceX boss Elon Musk tweeted after the landing, using the official name of the mission.
The four novices – Jared Isaacman, who chartered the mission, and three other Americans – spent three days orbiting the Earth, traveling beyond the International Space Station (ISS), up to 590 km above sea level. .
Speeding at around 28,000 km / h, they circled the globe more than 15 times each day.
Joys of weightlessness
PHOTO SPACEX, VIA REUTERS
Before the trip, the training of these space tourists only lasted about 6 months – compared to years for professional astronauts.
The stated goal of the mission was to mark a turning point in the democratization of space, by proving that the cosmos is also accessible to crews who have not been handpicked and trained for years, as are the astronauts. .
Jared Isaacman, 38, is the boss of a financial services company and a seasoned pilot. He paid SpaceX tens and tens of millions of dollars to experience those moments (the exact price has not been revealed).
He had offered three seats to strangers: Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old medical assistant who became the youngest American to ever go to space, Sian Proctor, a 51-year-old earth science professor, and Chris Sembroski, a 42 year old US Air Force alumnus.
PHOTO SPACEX, VIA REUTERS
Jared Isaacman
Prior to the trip, their training had only lasted about six months – compared to years for professional astronauts.
Once up there, they notably collected data (heart rate, sleep, oxygen saturation in the blood, cognitive abilities, etc.) which should allow them to better understand the effect of the spatial environment on beginners.
But they also took in the view of the cosmos through a brand new observation dome installed on Dragon, could talk with actor Tom Cruise from their ship, eat pizza or enjoy the joys of weightlessness in music.
Fundraising
The mission also serves as a huge fundraiser for the pediatric hospital of St Jude (Memphis, Tennessee), where Hayley Arceneaux works after being treated there as a child of cancer.
Inside the ship were various items – including a ukulele that Chris Sembroski played a few notes of live from the ship on Friday – which are now to be auctioned off for the benefit of the hospital. Almost $ 154 million has been raised so far, including $ 100 million donated by Jared Isaacman.
This is the third time that Elon Musk’s company, which in just a few years has become a giant in the sector, has brought humans back to Earth: during previous missions on behalf of NASA, six astronauts had already experienced a water landing on board from the same ship, after a stay in the ISS.
Inspiration4 concludes a summer marked by the flight of billionaires over the last frontier: first Richard Branson on July 11, aboard the Virgin Galactic ship, then a few days later Jeff Bezos, with his company Blue Origin . But these suborbital flights only offered a few minutes in zero gravity.
SpaceX is planning further space tourism flights thereafter. The next one from January 2022, with three businessmen on board.