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SpaceX’s recent mission: helping fight cancer through space exploration.

    The same launchpad (39A) that launched the first humans to the moon for the Kennedy Space Center also launched the first all-civilian mission to space in September, 2021. SpaceX launched Inspiration4 with a novel mission in mind: help children fight cancer and other life-threatening diseases by raising funds for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

    Space exploration often faces criticism from people who question the point of it when we already have so many problems to solve on Earth. Like any technological endeavor at its infancy, the space economy has been going through its own ebb and flow to figure out the most optimized position to serve humanity.

    Inspiration4 was a pivotal mission that opened the conversation about space exploration toward a broader audience while shedding light on the capabilities of the space economy. In addition, it accomplished a few milestones in regards to human space exploration. The mission sent the first human with prosthetics into an orbital-flight. Second crew member and Physician’s Assistant (PA) Hayley Arceneaux, 29, is a childhood cancer survivor who went through medical procedures to replace the bones in her left leg with metal rods. She is a former patient of St. Jude’s children’s hospital and a current PA working with leukemia and lymphoma patients at the hospital.

    The mission exemplified the strength and beauty of the human spirit. Chris Sembroski, a lifelong lover of space who has worked in space related fields throughout his career, had been forwarded a seat initially won by a college friend from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). His friend won one of the two lotteries that was held as part of a citizen crowd-funding campaign to raise $100M for St Jude’s children hospital, which was to be matched by the contribution from billionaire Jared Isaacman. Isaacman served as the commander and benefactor of the mission and has more than 6,000 hours of flying experience.

    Another civilian who was lucky enough to win a seat in the mission had come very close to being chosen as a NASA astronaut herself: Dr. Sian Proctor. She was one of 47 finalists from about 3500 applications in 2009. Ultimately,she was not chosen in that class of astronauts, but she did not give up on her love for space. She took part in a NASA financed analog astronaut program in Hawaii to help study human conditions under prolonged exposure to space-like environments. She is the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft and only the fourth African American to go to space. She hopes that the space sector will become more inclusive and diverse going forward.

    St. Jude Children’s Hospital and its affiliated research played a vital role in bringing cancer related deaths among American children from 80% to 20%. Yet, in many developing countries childrens diagnosed with cancer have an almost 80% fatality rate. St. Jude Children’s Hospital wants to change that and SpaceX came together with Shift4 payments to work as a launch partner for the Inspiration4 mission to help St. Jude Children’s Hospital advance cures for childhood cancers and other lifethreatening diseases.

Photo: “Unveiling the SpaceX Dragon 2” by
jurvetson is licensed under CC BY 2.0