SpaceX’s all-civilian mission Inspiration4 will launch from the Kennedy Space Center later tonight, providing everything goes according to plan. Did you see the hidden message in the official Inspiration4 crew images with all eyes on this historic launch?
The crew photos were posted on Monday in advance of the launch, and sharp eyes saw the message in Morse code emblazoned in the background of the shots, not so much hidden as branded. “Ad Astra,” the letter says simply.
The message was uncovered in Morse code in the seemingly random background wall of the photos by internet sleuths on the SpaceXLounge subreddit. This isn’t the first time a secret message has been discovered on a space trip this year. When NASA’s Perseverance landed on Mars, it had one buried in its parachute as well.
Depending on weather, the Inspiration4 launch will take place at roughly 8:02 p.m. EDT today evening (00:22 p.m. UTC Thursday), and will be broadcast live on numerous networks, including SpaceX and Netflix.
This will be the first trip with an all non-professional crew, and it will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s famed Pad39A, which also served as the launchpad for the Space Shuttle and the historic Apollo 11 Moon mission.
The Inspiration4 Crew will spend three days in space, reaching a height of 575 kilometers (357 miles) above Earth. That’s about 160 kilometers (100 miles) higher than the International Space Station and a little further out than the Hubble Space Telescope’s orbit.
Not only will the Inspiration4 mission conduct testing on the crew member, but it will also raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Christopher Sembroski, and Dr. Sian Proctor are among the all-civilian crew. The flight is being funded by Isaacman, the millionaire founder and CEO of payment processing company Shift4 Payments, who has committed half of the $200 million they expect to raise with this endeavor.
If all goes according to plan, SpaceX’s all-civilian mission Inspiration4 will launch from the Kennedy Space Center later tonight. Did you see the hidden message in the official Inspiration4 crew images with all eyes on this historic launch?
