SpaceX has revealed the name of the second crew member of Crew Dragon's first civilian space flight, 29-year-old Hayley Arsenox, who suffered from bone cancer as a child, the company said on Twitter.
29-year-old Arsenox will become the youngest American woman to have been in space, writes AP. She was allowed to fly, despite the presence of a prosthesis. When Arsenox was ten years old, she had knee surgery and a titanium rod was inserted into her left femur. The girl is still limping and suffering from pain in her legs, AP noted.
Arsenox is a former patient at St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, which specializes in treating childhood illnesses, including leukemia and other cancers. Now the girl works as a doctor's assistant in her. In the carriage, she will take one of four places, which was named “Hope”.
Meet commercial astronaut Hayley Arceneaux. She is an amazing person & I know she will be an inspiration to people all over the 🌍. Not just those w/ dreams of going to 🚀, but to all people who need hope when encountering life challenges . Hayley, welcome to @inspiration4x pic.twitter.com/t02LFuU7mm
— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) February 22, 2021
SpaceX announced preparations for the first fully civilian flight into space on February 1. The flight was paid in full by the 37-year-old billionaire and founder of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman. According to AP, the businessman intends to independently operate the spacecraft.
Isaacman said he intends to raise $ 200 million through the flight, which will be donated to St. Jude. Now he has to select two more crew members, their names are scheduled to be announced in March.
One of them will be the lottery winner. Everyone who makes a donation to St. Jude this month will participate. The fourth place will go to the owner of one of the companies that uses the services of Shift4 Payments.
The mission, dubbed Inspiration4, will be launched from SpaceX 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on a Falcon 9 rocket.
According to AP, the launch may take place as early as October. The crew will spend about four days in the Crew Dragon capsule in Earth orbit. It will orbit the planet every 90 minutes.
