Inspiration4, which launched with Elon Musk's SpaceX on Wednesday evening, has released the first photos from its first day in orbit, showing Earth's expansive vistas from the spacecraft's "cupola" window.
Commander Jared Isaacman, Mission specialist Chris Sembroski, medical officer Hayley Arceneaux, and pilot Sian Proctor are aboard the historic private mission.
Isaacman paid for Inspiration4, which is set to return to Earth and splashdown this weekend, for around $250 million. The primary purpose of spaceflight is to raise $200 million for St. Jude.
SpaceX added a large glass for the crew to the top of the Crew Dragon capsule Resilience, replacing the docking door under the spacecraft's nose cone with the cupola.
SpaceX's Inspiration4 Took Photos Aboard Dragon Capsule
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Inspiration4 crew launches from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 15, 2021. - The Inspiration4 mission, the first to send an all-civilian crew to orbit, will venture deeper into space than the International Space Station.
According to a recent Mashable post, participants of the Inspiration4 expedition gave viewers a tour of the copula within the spaceship.
The crew members have grabbed the greatest photos obtained from the spacecraft's dome after completing nearly 15 orbits on the first day of their journey.
In addition, the group displayed a stunning image of the Earth from space.
Inspiration4's official Twitter account posted the four photographs to the platform. The post has received over 48,000 likes and 7,000 retweets so far.
It was well known that the Crew Dragon spacecraft could not just carry four people because its maximum capacity was seven. SpaceX, on the other hand, limited the number of visits to four.
The crew of #Inspiration4 had an incredible first day in space! They’ve completed more than 15 orbits around planet Earth since liftoff and made full use of the Dragon cupola. pic.twitter.com/StK4BTWSA6
— Inspiration4 (@inspiration4x) September 17, 2021
The glass cupola was not included in the spacecraft's original design. The docking port had previously occupied the space that may have been used for it.
Because the Inspiration4 crew will not be stopping at any particular space station, that port is no longer required. The cupola will be an essential feature of the crewed flight, according to SpaceX.
Farthest Distance Dragon Ever Travelled
This is the farthest Dragon has ever traveled, at 585 kilometers (363 miles) above Earth, Space.com said. The capsule's typical destination, the International Space Station, revolves about 400 kilometers (250 miles). In fact, no human space mission has traveled this far from Earth since the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission in 2009.
Our crew has curated their ultimate space jams and you can listen along with them in space @Spotify with the #Inspiration4 Orbit Mix below 🎶 https://t.co/fpb7Ymddbz
— Inspiration4 (@inspiration4x) September 16, 2021
According to the Inspiration4 Twitter account, the crew members listened to "ultimate space jams" shared via Spotify's music streaming on their first day in space. Isaacman also made the first-ever sports bet from orbit, predicting the Super Bowl victory of the Philadelphia Eagles.
CNBC said the crew also spent their first day in orbit floating in zero gravity inside the capsule, spoke to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital patients from space, and answering questions.
RELATED ARTICLE: Kings of Leon Band Joins SpaceX's Private Inspiration4 Spaceflight; How Is It Possible?
Check out more news and information on SpaceX in Science Times.
