SpaceX on Tuesday introduced the final two crew members for its Inspiration4 all-private space mission.

Sian Proctor, an entrepreneur, educator and trained pilot, and Christopher Sembroski, a Lockheed Martin employee and U.S. Air Force veteran, will join the four-person crew that will orbit the Earth for several days aboard a Crew Dragon capsule in September as part of a fundraising campaign St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the company said in a statement.

Proctor, 51, will serve as mission pilot after being selected from among 200 entrants in an online business competition conducted by eCommerce platform Shift4Shop.

"This opportunity is proof that hard work and perseverance can pay off in unimaginable ways," she said. "I have always believed that I was preparing for special and that moment has arrived with Inspiration4."

Sembroski, 41, was selected for the flight after contributing to a St. Jude fundraising campaign and will serve as the mission specialist.

"Although I've been fortunate to have spent years in the aerospace industry, I never imagined having the opportunity to reach the stars, especially through something as simple as supporting St. Jude," he said.

They will join Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old cancer survivor who works at St. Jude, and Shift4Shop founder Jared Isaacman, who paid for the entire flight and pledged a $100 million donation to St. Jude.

The mission is set to launch on Sept. 15 on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and all crew members will undergo commercial astronaut training, SpaceX said.

During a news conference introducing the crew, SpaceX announced the Crew Dragon spacecraft will be modified to include a unique domed window granting crewmembers a 360-degree view outside the vessel.

"Jared keeps saying it's incredibly important to recognize that these are everyday people [who] get to go to space and that gives me goosebumps even right now talking about it but the fact that we can give everyday people the coolest window that's ever flown -- that's awesome," Benji Reed, SpaceX's director of crew mission management said.

SpaceX founder Elon Musk also shared a tweet about the window on Tuesday.

"Probably most 'in space' you could possibly feel by being in a glass dome," wrote Musk.

Related Links
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

SpaceX launch sends 23rd Starlink communications satellite cluster
Washington DC (UPI) Mar 24, 2021
SpaceX launched 60 more Starlink broadband communications satellites before dawn on Wednesday, from Florida. Liftoff of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellites occurred at Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The weather was cooperative for the 23rd Starlink mission. "Deployment of 60 Starlink satellites confirmed," Space tweeted. "This was the sixth launch and landing of this Falcon 9 first stage booster, which previously supported launch of GPS-III Space Vehicle ... read more