Everything You Need To Know About The SpaceX Inspiration4 Mission Ahead Of Splashdown

Tesla Inc TSLA CEO Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX, successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket Wednesday night, sending the first all-civilian crew to orbit in its Dragon spacecraft.

Here is everything you need to know about the historic Inspiration4 mission:

Falcon 9: Falcon 9 is a reusable two-stage rocket that was designed and manufactured by SpaceX for transport to Earth orbit. It's the world's first orbital-class reusable rocket. 

The booster supporting the Inspiration4 mission is Falcon 9 Booster B1062. The current mission is the booster's third flight, which makes its designation B1062-3.

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Crew Dragon Resilience: The spacecraft supporting the Inspiration4 mission is the Crew Dragon C207-2.

The Crew Dragon previously carried astronauts to the International Space Station during the NASA Crew-1 mission. Before the Crew-1 launch, the astronauts named the spacecraft "Resilience."

The Dragon spacecraft is capable of carrying seven passengers to and from Earth's orbit and is the only spacecraft currently flying that is capable of returning a significant amount of cargo to Earth.

What's Going On Up There? The crew is currently traveling weightless at over 17,000 miles per hour. According to SpaceX, the crew is conducting experiments "designed to expand our knowledge of the universe." Cargo on the spacecraft includes crew essentials and scientific equipment dedicated to microgravity research and experimentation.

The three-day Inspiration4 mission aims to raise awareness, as well as $200 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

The spacecraft carrying mission commander Jared Isaacman, mission pilot Sian Proctor, chief medical officer Hayley Arceneaux and mission specialist Christopher Sembroski is expected to splash down off the coast of Florida Saturday evening around 7 p.m. ET, pending suitable weather conditions.

Photo: Official SpaceX Photos from Flickr.