Elon Musk’s SpaceX Announces First ‘All-Civilian’ Mission to Space

Are you interested in a multi-million dollar trip to space? Now might be your chance to win one.

What We Know:

• The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule will be the first-ever orbital space flight ran entirely by non-astronauts. Tech entrepreneur and trained pilot, Jared Isaacman, has recently announced his command over the charity-driven operation. Fellow crew members for the multi-day trip set for later this year have yet to be identified.
• Isaacman told reporters that the mission is expected to be the biggest fundraiser ever for St. Jude, saying, “If we’re going to continue making advances up there in space, then we have an obligation to do the same down here on Earth.”
• According to CNN, Isaacman has purchased three extra tickets for the trip for his mission called the Inspiration4. One of the seats will be donated to a St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital frontline healthcare worker. Isaacman would not identify the person but described them as a female worker who is “committed to helping kids beat cancer.”
• The next seat will be reserved for a winner of a contest limited to customers of Isaacman’s eCommerce platform, Shift4Shop. Eligible participants will be required to open an online store on the Shift4Shop website and tweet a video about their entrepreneurial story. The entries will be reviewed by a panel of celebrity judges who have not yet been disclosed.
• The last seat will be open to a member of the public. Those interested in participating will be able to enter a contest by donating at least $10 to St. Jude for a chance to join the trip. The winner must meet the requirements for space travel physically and psychologically. Although it is unclear when the winners will be announced, Isaacman did tell reporters at a conference call on Monday that he expects to have crew members begin training for the mission within the next 30 days.

Although it’s not clear exactly how long the trip will be or where in orbit the crew will fly. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk assured Isaacman, “wherever you want to go, we’ll take you there.”