{"id":10961,"date":"2021-09-17T22:28:02","date_gmt":"2021-09-17T14:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/inspiration4-crew-describes-incredible-perspective-from-space\/"},"modified":"2021-09-17T22:28:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-17T14:28:02","slug":"inspiration4-crew-describes-incredible-perspective-from-space","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/inspiration4-crew-describes-incredible-perspective-from-space\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspiration4 crew describes \u201cincredible perspective\u201d from space"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Inspiration4 crew downlinks a live update from SpaceX\u2019s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft. Credit: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On their final full day in space Friday, the all-civilian Inspiration4 crew circling Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon capsule chatted with Tom Cruise, rang the closing bell on the New York Stock Exchange, and downlinked a live video update showing views outside their cupola dome window.<\/p>\n

The crew members demonstrated acrobatic spins in the microgravity environment aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft, described scientific experiments that are part of the mission, and showed off artistic efforts, including sketches and a brief musical performance.<\/p>\n

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire businessman and civilian pilot who paid for the first all-private crew flight to orbit, thanked followers for supporting St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital, the non-profit institution that is the focus of a fundraising campaign attached to the Inspiration4 mission.<\/p>\n

\u201cA big part of our mission here at Inspiration4 is to inspire what can be done here in space because there\u2019s an awful lot of it,\u201d Isaacman, 38, said in a video downlink from space at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) Friday. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get out and explore it, but also we have our responsibilities that we need to take care of back on Earth, and top on our list right now is conquering childhood cancer. That\u2019s why we\u2019re supporting St. Jude.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mission has a goal of raising $200 million for St. Jude, including $100 million personally donated by Isaacman.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know how fortunate we are to be up here,\u201d Isaacman said. \u201cWe\u2019re giving all of our time right now to science research and some ukulele playing, and trying to raise some good awareness for an important cause for us back on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Inspiration4 crew participated in a question and answer session with St. Jude patients Thursday, the day after their launch from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on top of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.<\/p>\n

The video update Friday was the first live public downlink from the crew. Space-to-ground communications are broadcast publicly throughout NASA flights to and from the International Space Station, keeping with the government agency\u2019s charter to be open.<\/p>\n

But radio transmissions between the Inspiration4 crew and SpaceX mission control have not been available to the public, limiting real-time insight into the crew\u2019s activities in orbit.<\/p>\n

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is in near-constant communication with SpaceX mission control through voice and data links provided by NASA\u2019s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite network. The Crew Dragon can only downlink live video during passes over ground stations.<\/p>\n

Ground teams will retrieve high-resolution still photos and high-definition video recordings, including imagery from a GoPro 360-degree camera, after the Inspiration4 crew returns to Earth Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

During their 10-minute video update Friday, the Inspiration4 crew appeared healthy and in good spirits as they approached the 48-hour mark of their mission.<\/p>\n

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is fully automated, with ground teams at SpaceX\u2019s headquarters California able to send up commands or change settings on the capsule. Isaacman\u2019s crew is trained to live and work aboard the spaceship, or intervene in the event of an emergency.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the crew will put on their custom-made SpaceX pressure suits and prepare for re-entry back into the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft fired thrusters two times Friday evening to lower its orbit from as high as 366 miles (590 kilometers) \u2014 higher than anyone has flown since a space shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope two decades ago \u2014 to around 226 miles (365 kilometers), according to SpaceX.<\/p>\n

The altitude change sets up for a deorbit burn at 6:16 p.m. EDT (2216 GMT) Saturday. The braking maneuver will allow the Crew Dragon\u2019s orbit to fall back into the atmosphere, lining up the capsule for a parachute assisted splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean northeast of Cape Canaveral at 7:06 p.m. EDT (2306 GMT).<\/p>\n

SpaceX\u2019s recovery team will be on standby to hoist the capsule from the ocean. Personnel on the recovery ship will then assist the crew members out of the spacecraft, and the crew will fly back to Kennedy Space Center by helicopter.<\/p>\n

A glimpse of life in space with the Inspiration4 crew <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re cruising right now at 580 kilometers above Earth, going about 7.6 kilometers per second, so we\u2019re really booking,\u201d Isaacman said during Friday\u2019s live event.<\/p>\n

The space fliers opened the spacecraft\u2019s forward hatch leading to a dome window SpaceX built for the Inspiration4 mission. The three-layer plexiglass viewing dome provides panoramic views of Earth and space, replacing the docking port used for Dragon missions to the International Space Station.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time we go into darkness we get his amazing view,\u201d said Sian Proctor, 51, a geology professor and artist who won a seat on the Inpsiration4 mission. \u201cOh, that looks like the aurora! Oh wow!\u201d<\/p>\n