One of the main goals of Inspiration 4, SpaceX’s first all-private space mission, was to raise $ 200 million for St. Jude Hospital. The mission was able to raise $ 160 million and avoid raising more funds, but now Elon Musk says he is donating $ 50 million to the hospital.
The CEO of SpaceX tweeted in response to the news that the crew of the Inspiration 4 mission had returned to Earth promised $ 50 million in donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital. The Inspiration 4 mission has so far raised $ 160 million to help the center, complemented by a donation from Elon Musk.
The four crew members of the mission took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday morning and returned to Earth this morning in good health. Jared Isaacman, the billionaire founder of Shift4 Payments, who paid for the mission, went into space with Haley Arseno, Chris Sambrowski and Cian Procter. He had donated $ 100 million to the hospital alone.
Following the release of this tweet, Inspiration4 passengers thanked Elon Musk. “There are tears in my eyes,” Haley Arseno wrote. “Thank you for this generous donation to St. Jude Hospital, Elon Musk.” The mission’s crew will continue to auction off some of the equipment they took on the three-day trip and donate the proceeds to St. Jude Hospital.
The Inspiration 4 mission has had several achievements. The mission was the first completely private SpaceX flight, the first unmanned spaceflight, and the fourth space trip of an African American woman. In addition, the youngest American and the first person to go into space with a prosthesis was on the mission. SpaceX conducted several scientific studies during and before this mission to learn about the body’s response to its micronutrients.
