A busy day in orbit for SpaceX's all-civilian Inspiration4 crew
CBSN
The all-civilian Inspiration4 crew chatted with Tom Cruise from space, mission officials said Friday, sharing their experiences on the first privately-funded trip to orbit while enjoying "an incredible" first full day in weightlessness.
They also got a chance to take in spectacular views of Earth from their Crew Dragon capsule's hemispheric cupola, beaming down video of the blue-and-white planet 365 miles below.
The mission was chartered by billionaire Jared Isaacman in part to raise up to $200 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis. Medical officer Hayley Arceneaux, a childhood cancer survivor treated at St. Jude and now a physician assistant at the hospital, showed off the view in a video chat with patients.
Ashley White received her earliest combat action badge from the United States Army soon after the first lieutenant arrived in Afghanistan. The silver military award, recognizing soldiers who've been personally engaged by an attacker during conflict, was considered an achievement in and of itself as well as an affirming rite of passage for the newly deployed. White had earned it for using her own body to shield a group of civilian women and children from gunfire that broke out in the midst of her third mission in Kandahar province. All of them survived. She never mentioned the badge to anyone in her battalion.