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ORAC
12th Sep 2021, 11:18
Launch of first all civilian crewed flight by SpaceX planned for Wednesday 15th at 2000 EDT (midnight GMT or 0100 BST).

Not staying up myself, well past my bed time. One way or the other I’ll learn about it when I wakes ffffp and turn on the radio.

https://www.space.com/inspiration4-spacex-mission-10-things-to-know

Inspiration4: 10 things to know about SpaceX's private all-civilian mission

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX's next astronaut launch is just four days away. On Wednesday (Sept. 15), a crew of four private citizens will strap into a Crew Dragon spacecraft and blast off on a three-day journey around the Earth dubbed Inspiration4 (https://www.space.com/news/live/spacex-inspiration4-updates).

ORAC
15th Sep 2021, 14:02
https://www.space.com/spacex-inspiration4-private-civilian-spaceflight-webcasts

SpaceX's Inspiration4 (https://www.space.com/inspiration4-spacex.html) mission is ready to launch to Earth orbit on Wednesday (Sept. 15), and you can watch the historic liftoff live.

The launch webcast will start on SpaceX’ YouTube channel Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. EDT (1945 GMT) and will also stream here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX (https://www.space.com/18853-spacex.html). The five-hour launch window at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida opens at 8:02 p.m. EDT (0002 GMT on Thursday, Sept. 16).

If the launch is delayed for any reason, a backup opportunity is available opening at 8:05 p.m. EDT on Thursday (Sept. 16; 0005 GMT on Friday, Sept. 17), Inspiration4 representatives wrote in a recent press release (https://inspiration4.com/press/weather-conditions-70-favorable-for-launch-of-inspiration4).

Weather conditions are currently 70% favorable for Wednesday's prime launch window.

SpaceX's YouTube

what next
15th Sep 2021, 19:01
... (https://www.space.com/spacex-inspiration4-private-civilian-spaceflight-webcasts) historic ...

What exactly will be "historic" in this mission:

First civilians in space? No. That one goes to Walentina Tereshkova (1963!).
First pure touristic space mission? No. Branson and Bezos came first.
First billionaire in space? No (too lazy to google who that one was)
First privately developed manned spacecraft? No (Crew Dragon was developed on a NASA contract)

Why can't they just toy around with their money and leave history for people who really write history?

ORAC
15th Sep 2021, 19:14
Valentina Tereshkova? Commissioned in the Soviet military upon selection for their military space programme.

Bezos and Branson? Both sub-orbital. Same for point three.

First pure civilian crew in a privately developed capsule aboard a privately developed rocket.

NASA is, of course, non-military and their contract was, and is, to pay for a private company to deliver cargo and astronauts to the ISS. SpaceX paid their own way.

what next
15th Sep 2021, 19:33
Valentina Tereshkova? Commissioned in the Soviet military upon selection for their military space programme.

And de-commissioned the moment she bailed out of her capsule. But at least hers was a historic mission.

Bezos and Branson? Both sub-orbital.

What does it matter? Space is space. At least this is what they told us when they performed their "historic" missions some weeks ago.

First pure civilian crew in a privately developed capsule aboard a privately developed rocket.

Maybe. But many spacecraft, including the Apollo capsules where developed and built by private (i.e. not state owned) companies. Under contracts similar to the one SpaceX developed their dragon capsule.

SpaceX paid their own way.

This may be splitting hairs, but in case of the Crew Dragon SpaceX only built a non-functional mockup on their own. Based on that they were awarded a NASA contract (with on NASA/taxpayer money) for developing and launching the actual thing.

Spaceflight has a long history of "historic" mission. In my history book this is not going to be one of them. Nobody will remember it five years from now unless it ends in tears. Which of course we do not hope for.

ORAC
15th Sep 2021, 21:12
Space is space. At least this is what they told us
“They” being Bezos and Branson?

ORAC
19th Sep 2021, 07:15
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/19/heck-of-a-ride-spacexs-historic-amateur-astronauts-land-safely-in-atlantic

‘Heck of a ride’: SpaceX’s historic amateur astronauts splash down safely in Atlantic

ORAC
21st Sep 2021, 17:24
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/elon-musk-spacex-inspiration4-toilet-twitter-b1924247.html

There were “challenges” with the toilet during SpaceX’s first entirely private trip to space, Elon Musk has revealed. The SpaceX chief executive did not elaborate on what those problems were, but said the future mission will “definitely” include “upgraded toilets” to ensure they did not happen again.

Mr Musk revealed the problems on Twitter, after revealing that he had met with the crew after they touched down in Florida.

Before the mission, much of the discussion had been about how good the toilet in the SpaceX Dragon capsule that carried the crew were set to be. They were situated just beneath the “cupola”, the huge built-in window, meaning the crew could look out into space as they relieved themselves.

Jared Isaacman, the billionaire who funded the trip into space, told Insider that the toilet was covered by a curtain that might offer some privacy. SpaceX has not said much about how exactly the toilet works, but training on it was part of the extended regime of preparation that the crew of four space tourists had to go through before their flight.

Other improvements in the future will include a “little oven for heating food”, Mr Musk said. He had already apologised to the crew for the fact they had to eat cold pizza and promised a “food warmer”, to which Mr Isaacman said he had “no complaints” and that the “food was great”.

Mr Musk also said that the Dragon will include a WiFi connection through SpaceX’s Starlink satellites. Mr Isaacman has revealed that the reason the photos of the Inspiration4 were few and far between was because the spacecraft only had “so many ground station passes to transmit video” and that government agencies such as Nasa were given priority to use those connections.