Billionaire tech entrepreneur and pilot, Jared Isaacman, will command the world's first all-civilian mission to space abroad a SpaceX Dragon capsule, targeted at the end of the year
The world's first private mission to space is set to usher in a new era of commercial space exploration and the man leading it is tech entrepreneur, Jared Isaacman. The 37-year-old billionaire is the founder and chief executive officer of Shift4 Payments, a leader in secure payment processing solutions.
As an accomplished pilot, Isaacman will be commanding the all-civilian spaceflight named Inspiration4, in recognition of the four-person crew's mission to inspire support for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a pediatric treatment and research centre devoted to children and to send a humanitarian message of possibility—representing a new age for human spaceflight and exploration.
Isaacman, an accomplished pilot, will be donating the three mission seats alongside him to crew members who will be selected to represent the mission pillars of leadership, hope, generosity and prosperity.
"Inspiration4 is the realisation of a lifelong dream and a step towards a future in which anyone can venture out and explore the stars. I appreciate the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission and I want to use this historic moment to inspire humanity while helping to tackle childhood cancer here on Earth," he said in a statement.