Netflix Releases First Episodes Of Inspiration4 Documentary, SpaceX Is 'GO' For Launch Of All-Civilian Crew

This week Netflix released the first two episodes of the Inspiration4 documentary called – Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space – a series about SpaceX’s first all-civilian crew that will launch atop Falcon 9 to orbit Earth aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Their journey will be streamed by Netflix in near real-time as their voyage to space evolves. The docuseries is produced by TIME Studios, directed by ‘The Last Dance’ director Jason Hehir, and narrated by TIME’s Jeffrey Kluger. The first two episodes were released on September 6, they highlighted a brief biography of each Inspiration4 crewmember and features a brief scene with SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

Inspiration4 Commander Jared Isaacman, is the entrepreneur who funded the mission. In the documentary, Isaacman says that he did not want to travel to space as another billionaire to orbit Earth – he wants the mission to have an inspiring message and decided to use his space adventure to inspire the world to donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude offers free treatment to children who are battling a life-threatening illness. Isaacman donated $100 million and hopes to raise $100 million more for the hospital. He invited a former St. Jude cancer survivor who now works at the hospital, Hayley Arceneaux. Her life story about surviving childhood bone cancer was featured in the first Netflix episode that brought tears to some viewers’ eyes. In the second episode they highlight how the other two crewmembers, Inspiration4 Pilot Dr. Sian Proctor and Mission Specialist Chris Sembroski, won the voyage to space. 

On Sept 6, you’ll meet the four civilians going into space.
On Sept 13, you’ll see them prepare.
On Sept 15, you’ll watch the live launch
On Sept 30, you’ll be in space alongside them

Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space takes off next week pic.twitter.com/prr0RDZSXc

— Netflix (@netflix) September 2, 2021

On September 3 the company announced they conducted a Flight Readiness Review in which they assessed if all is ready for the crew to travel to space. SpaceX shared they met with Inspiration4 team "at SpaceX’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California to evaluate the readiness of the Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon spacecraft, ground systems, recovery assets, crew training, and other key elements of SpaceX’s human spaceflight system" for the all-civilian mission. They decided that the quartet will liftoff from historic Launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on September 15, during a 24-hour launch window initating at 12:00 a.m. UTC. that will be narrowed down to 5 hours closer to launch. If weather delays the mission, a backup launch opportunity is also scheduled for September 16.

The Inspiration4 crew will ride a special Crew Dragon that is modified to provide a larger view of outer space. The spacecraft features a new cupola window, so the crew can enjoy 360-views while they orbit Earth for three days. The Netflix series explains the mission’s flight profile; they will orbit at an altitude of 575-kilometers which is higher than the International Space Station (ISS). The crew plans to perform science research during their time in orbit and also send an inspiring message to the kids at St. Jude. The next pair of episodes will be about how the civilian crew trained like astronauts to be ready for the high-stress of spaceflight. The episodes will be released on September 13. The finale episode will be streamed on Netflix after they return to Earth by the end of September.

Thanks @netflix for capturing these amazing moments, for supporting @StJude & telling the @inspiration4x story. Big thanks to @SpaceX & @elonmusk for changing the 🌎! The last 9 months have really gone by fast and it will be great to relive this experience through these episodes https://t.co/vEFUCUY6ar

— Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) September 2, 2021

I have a spacesuit with my name on it! 🤯 #gratitude ❤️👩🏾‍🚀🚀🌏🐉@inspiration4x @SpaceX pic.twitter.com/YLQ26djrYT

— Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor (@DrSianProctor) September 4, 2021

It’s finally here!!! Check out the first two episodes of Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space

I get to relive the greatest year of my life thanks to this awesome crew, @time, and @netflix 🤩😍 AND the best part is the profits from this documentary are going to @stjude!!! pic.twitter.com/Q2OCgSBrZd

— Hayley Arceneaux (@ArceneauxHayley) September 6, 2021

I’m gonna go ride a rocket! Watch “Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space” on Netflix.https://t.co/5rmWaxLjkY

— Chris “Hanks” Sembroski (@ChrisSembroski) September 6, 2021

All Featured Images Source: Inspiration4 via Twitter