Excitement builds ahead of Inspiration4 commercial mission to space

SpaceX to fly first civilian crew into orbit

SpaceX is sending its first all-civilian flight crew into space. A Pennsylvania businessman is paying for the entire journey and he's taking three people along with him, and you could be selected to go along for the ride.

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - Excitement is in the air as people fantasize about being one of the lucky people that gets to take a ride to space.

"I would love to be able to do something like that," said Aaron Graves.

"I think for a regular person to be able to see the Earth from up there, I think that would be really cool," said Jeremy Saglimbeni.

(Photo courtesy: Inspiration4 Twitter page)

"It’s not like every day you get the chance to just go up and get into space, but my dad is a space nerd so he would have been like, 'Yes!'" Jeremy’s brother, John Saglimbeni said.

"You are making it possible for people, just normal people, to believe that now is an opportunity, however remote, but that is going to continue to grow for normal people to experience spaceflight," said Dale Ketcham, Space Florida’s vice president of government relations.

Two winners, a billionaire, and a St. Jude's hospital employee get to hop aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule, launching the first mission to space with no professional astronauts on board.

"It is an opportunity to take something about the excitement of spaceflight and use it for something. You know, you can’t get any more noble than fighting childhood cancer and St. Jude's represents that as much as any place on the planet," Ketcham said.

The four-person mission will be commanded by tech entrepreneur and pilot Jared Isaacman.

Talking about the mission, named "Inspiration4," he said, "While a historic journey awaits us in space, I hope this mission reinforces how far inspiration can take us."

"Putting four people who are not professional astronauts in a tin can and putting them up in orbit for four days is going to be a challenge, but most of us would jump at that chance," Ketcham said.

The CEO told reporters on Monday that the crew could begin training within 30 days.

"This is a big part of the whole initiative that both Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos with Blue Origin have been promoting. Their long-term effort is the democratization of making space available to more and more people. Obviously, it is still quite expensive, but this is a significant step in that direction," Ketcham said.

To enter to win, you can donate $10 or more to St. Jude’s hospital.

If you donate more, there is a greater chance of winning.

To learn more, visit the Inspiration4 website.

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