Darrell Etherington, writing at TechCrunch:
SpaceX has announced its first all-civilian private spaceflight mission, a high-priced galactic tourism launch that it hopes to fly by the fourth quarter of 2021. The mission, which will use SpaceX’s Dragon crew spacecraft and its Falcon 9 rocket, will include Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman, who is CEO of Shift4 Payments, as well as three crew members to be selected and donated by Isaacman, his company and St Jude’s Children Research Hospital. That’s one way to drive product adoption.
The mission is being called Inspiration4, and there’s already a significant digital presence for it, including a website with a countdown timer. Two of the of seats on the four person ride will be donated to St. Jude recipients, with one going to an ambassador for the children’s medical research center, and another going to a member of the public that will be chosen from entrants to an online contest based on either making a donation to St. Jude. The final seat will go to an entrepreneur who builds a business on Shift4’s platform, which enables payments for online stores.
Here’s a bit from SpaceX’s press release:
Isaacman has committed to give $100 million to St. Jude and is inviting everyone to join him in attempting to raise upwards of $200 million or more in support of St. Jude’s multi-billion dollar expansion aimed to accelerate research advancements and save more children worldwide. He will also offer additional support to the St. Jude fundraising effort in the form of other prizes, including flights in a military jet and flight gear.
“From the beginning, St. Jude has been at the forefront of innovation and inclusion, leading in cancer research, care and treatment for some of the world’s sickest children regardless of race, ethnicity, beliefs or a family’s ability to pay,” said Richard C. Shadyac, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude. “This partnership brings two missions together to create one incredible moment in time that will make an impact on many lives for years to come in the global effort to cure childhood cancer.”
This is mind-blowing, and I couldn’t be happier St. Jude is going to part of this amazing mission.