SpaceX Announces First Wholly CivilIan Crewed Space Mission

SpaceX: World’s First All-Civilian Mission to Space Will Usher in New Era of Commercial Space Exploration
“Plans for the world’s first all-civilian mission to space were announced today from SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. The mission is being targeted for the fourth quarter of this year and will be commanded by Jared Isaacman, the 37-year-old founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments [NYSE:FOUR] and an accomplished pilot. Named Inspiration4 in recognition of the four-person crew’s mission to inspire support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and send a humanitarian message of possibility, the journey represents a new era for human spaceflight and exploration. Isaacman is donating the three mission seats alongside him to crew members who will be selected to represent the mission pillars of leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity.”
Ford v. Ferrari–in Space!, by acting Chief of Staff Bhavya Lal, Issues, June 2020
” … this seems to be a victory for both the American taxpayer and the nation’s space program. SpaceX intends to take not only NASA astronauts to the ISS but also private spaceflight participants, leveraging government investment to commercialize its now-proven launch services.”

Personal observation: no kidding. @ElonMusk @SpaceX and the #Inspiration4 people have thought this out – not only in terms of finance but also how to engage a vast audience and generate significant inspiration and resources that can affect real people in their daily lives.

— NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) February 1, 2021