Elon Musk Donates IDR 711 Billion To Charity On Inspiration4 Mission

The Inspiration4 mission, apart from a research mission, is also a fundraising mission. (photo credit: spacex)

JAKARTA - SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk surprised the first civilian to successfully orbit Earth for three days, on the Inspiration4 mission. Musk intends to donate USD 50 million.

Inspriration4's mission was to raise USD 200 million in charity for St Jude Children's Research Hospital in Tennessee. Musk's funds will also be allocated to the hospital.

"Count me for USD 50 million. Happy. Healthy. Home," Musk tweeted as he welcomed the crew home that took off off the coast of Florida, ending the first-ever flight to Earth orbit that only took space tourists.

The crew also asked the community for help in achieving their fundraising targets. The mission's sponsor and commander, Jared Isaacman, has paid SpaceX an undisclosed million dollars for the trip and donated the first USD 100 million to charity.

38-year-old Isaacman said he wanted to show that ordinary people could glide into orbit on their own. He held a raffle for one of the four seats and a competition.

One of the passengers was Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old cancer survivor who works as a physician's assistant in St. Jude. The hospital selected Arceneaux for this mission at Isaacman's request. Cited from The Guardian, Monday, September 20.

All of the crew on the Inspiration4 mission were the first to circumnavigate the globe without a professional astronaut. SpaceX's fully automated Dragon reached an astonishingly high altitude of 363 miles after liftoff on Wednesday. Passengers enjoy the view of Earth through the large bubble-shaped windows added to the top of the capsule.

The four are the first space explorers to end their flight over the Atlantic since Apollo 9 in 1969. The crew members will undergo medical examinations before going to the Kennedy Space Center to be with their families.