Cover Tech entrepreneur, Jared Isaacman will be commanding the first all-civilian space mission abroad a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule (Photo: Courtesy of SpaceX)

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.

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Above SpaceX founder, Elon Musk and Jared Isaacman (Photo: Courtesy of SpaceX)

Isaacman is rated to fly commercial and military aircraft, holding several world records including a Speed-Around-The-World flight to raise money and awareness for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Having flown in over 100 airshows as part of the Black Diamond Jet Team, he dedicates his every performance to charitable causes. In 2011, Isaacman co-founded the Draken International, the world's largest private air force to train pilots for the United States Armed Forces.

The Inspiration4 crew will be boarding a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, "Resilience" and will have no professional astronauts abroad said SpaceX founder, Elon Musk. The crew will undergo commercial astronaut training by SpaceX on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft including a specific focus on orbital mechanics, operating in microgravity, zero gravity and other forms of stress testing. They'll also receive emergency preparedness training, spacesuit and spacecraft ingress and egress exercise as well as partial and full-mission simulations.

The mission is set to launch from the historic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will be carefully monitored every step of the way by SpaceX mission control as the spacecraft orbits the planet every 90 minutes along a customised flight path. Upon ending its multi-day journey, the spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere for soft water landing off the coast of Florida.

See also: Reach For The Stars: Hong Kong-based Nasa Astrobiologist Angélica Anglés' Mission To Find Life On Mars

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Above The Inspiration4 crew will boarding a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, "Resilience" for the mission (Photo: Courtesy of SpaceX)

According to Musk, the full arc of the mission is still under discussion but details are up to Isaacman. The future commander of the spaceflight has given St. Jude two seats for the mission—the first seat reserved for a St. Jude ambassador who exemplifies the pillar of hope while the second seat will represent generosity. Members of the public can enter here for a chance to join the flight to space and support St. Jude's mission. Isaacman himself has already given US$100 million to St. Jude and is inviting donations to raise US$200 million.

The final fourth seat will represent prosperity to a deserving entrepreneur who will make use of the new Shift4Shop eCommerce platform which aims to empower entrepreneurs to build and grow successful eCommerce businesses online. A panel of independent judges will choose the fourth crew member from the competition, open to Shift4Shop customers that will run until February 28, 2021.

"In the lead-up to launch, we’ll share new ways to support and follow our mission preparation and execution with a focus on inspiring and helping others," said Isaacman.

See also: This Futuristic New Photography Website Lets You Snap Photos From Space

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