Splashdown! On Saturday, September 18, the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule safely landed in the Atlantic Ocean, off the Florida coast. It marked the end of the historic Inspiration4 mission. It was the first-ever spaceflight to orbit Earth without any
The four-person crew had blasted off on September 15, from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Their capsule reached an
SpaceX hopes the mission will help make space travel possible for everyone, not just trained astronauts. Another goal of Inspiration4 was to raise $200 million for cancer research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Crew member Hayley Arceneaux (AR-seh-noh) works at the hospital and is a survivor of childhood cancer.
“I just want you all to know that we’re doing this for you,” she told St. Jude patients during a video call from space.
By the time the crew splashed down, the mission had raised $160 million for St. Jude. SpaceX founder Elon Musk later tweeted that he would donate $50 million, pushing the amount raised to $210 million.