4 space tourists returns to Earth after 3 days in orbit

The first space tourists on board the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission have landed safely on Earth after a three-day voyage.

After completing the first-ever mission in Earth’s orbit with no professional astronauts on board, the four tourists splashed down off Florida’s coast.

The Inspiration4 initiative is important, as it is SpaceX’s first voyage around the Earth with an all-civilian crew.

The Crew Dragon capsule included billionaire businessman Jared Isaacman along with Hayley Arceneaux, Sian Proctor, and Chris Sembroski.

Isaacman, who bought the Inspiration4 startup from SpaceX, and his fellow crew members were launched on Sept. 15 from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center with a Falcon-9 rocket.

Although control of the capsule, which rose to an altitude of some 575 kilometers (357 miles), was automatically provided from Earth, the four passengers underwent some six months in training before the flight to prepare for possible contingencies.