World's First All-Commercial Space Flight To Benefit St. Jude's

HAWTHORNE, CA — For those who are brave enough to hitch a ride on the world's first entirely commercial space flight set to take off later this year, there are a couple of seats open. And you don't even have to be a billionaire.

The South Bay-based SpaceX announced plans Monday for the flight dubbed Inspiration4, carrying private passengers on a multi-day journey orbiting the earth. The crew will orbit the earth every 90 minutes and return to earth in SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, landing in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Florida. Would-be astronauts can register for a chance to rocket to space on the Inspiration4 website, which has a 26-day countdown going until crew selection.

The mission will be led by experienced pilot Jared Isaacman, the founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments, launching out of Cape Canaveral in Florida by the end of the year.

Isaacman plans to donate three seats on the trip to raise funds for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. For a chance to become one of the world's earliest space tourists, astronaut hopefuls need only donate to St. Jude's.

Those who will be selected to blast off include one randomly selected St. Jude's donor, one St. Jude's healthcare worker, and one business owner who makes use of Isaacman's Shift4 payment company.

Isaacman did not say how much he is paying for the mission. According to the Associated Press, it will raise $200 million for St. Jude's with about half that coming from Isaacman.

The CEO said the mission is a lifelong dream of his.

"In fulfilling a personal and lifelong dream, I recognize the tremendous responsibility that comes with commanding this mission," Isaacman said in a statement released for Inspiration4. "While a historic journey awaits us in space, I hope this mission reinforces how far inspiration can take us and the extraordinary achievements it leads to here on Earth."