Wanna Go to Space, Inspiration 4 Can Make it Happen

Have you ever looked up in the sky and wondered what it was like up there among the stars looking down on planet Earth? Your chance to experience space flight is just a donation away.

I'm sure everybody has thought about what Earth would look like from above. When I was a kid growing up, I thought about how cool it would be to be an astronaut. I did a report on Neil Armstrong for a class project and was convinced that that's what I was going to be when I grew up. Then I realized I was afraid of heights so going to the moon no longer made sense, but I would still be willing to go if Scotty would "beam me up"...so to speak.

Looks like commercial space flight is getting to be a reality, as there are several projects in the works to send civilians to space. According to a report from KWTX, the latest involves SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and the CEO of Shift4 Payments, Jared Isaacman.

The two announced in a teleconference that they are sending 3 civilians to space sometime this fall on Inspiration 4.

“It’s an important milestone toward enabling space for everyone,” Musk said.

So who goes and how do you win? One seat will go to Isaacman, with another going to a frontline healthcare worker and another going to a small business owner. The fourth seat will go to someone chosen at random from among those who make a donation to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. There's an effort underway to raise $200 million for St. Jude, and Isaacman has already donated $100 million.

So, wanna go to space on board a "Dragon" capsule? Make a donation to St. Jude Children's Hospital before the end of February and you could be chosen.

“I know how lucky I’ve been in my life. I’ve gotten to experience a number of great things," Isaacman said. "And you know there’s just an awful lot of families that sadly aren’t even going to be in that situation and we just have to do something about it. "

Of course you can still donate to St Jude if you just want to help them reach the $200 million goal. They do so much great work for kids with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and the majority of their funding comes from donations.

Who knows? A life you help save could be the first person to set foot on Mars.