--- title: "SpaceX Announces Contest to Win Free Multi-Day Trip to Orbit" description: "Last night, SpaceX announced a contest in which one lucky winner will be able to take a multi-day trip to orbit — for free." date: "2021-02-02" modified: "2021-02-02" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-contest-free-trip-orbit" categories: - "Space" - "SpaceX" tags: - "elon musk" - "space" - "SpaceX" - "the digest" --- # SpaceX Announces Contest to Win Free Multi-Day Trip to Orbit ![Last night, SpaceX announced a contest in which one lucky winner will be able to take a multi-day trip to orbit — for free.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Space Vacation Yesterday, SpaceX announced a contest in which one lucky winner will be able to take a multi-day trip to orbit — for free. The winner will join three other private astronauts, [*The New York Times* reports](), in a launch tentatively scheduled for later this year, that will raise money for childhood cancer research. "If you’re going to accomplish all those great things out in space, all that progress, then you have an obligation to do some considerable good here on Earth, like making sure you conquer childhood cancer along the way," said Jared Isaacman, a billionaire who is helping finance the expedition, according to the newspaper. ## Ride Along Isaacman, the founder of a payment service called Shift4, also plans to join the launch — and pilot the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule that will carry four occupants into Earth's orbit for several days. Proceeds will go to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, he said. Alongside him will be the contest winner, a healthcare worker from St. Jude's, and a yet-unnamed entrepreneur taking part in a competition that the *NYT* compared to "Shark Tank." SpaceX will provide astronaut training to all participants, though company CEO Elon Musk implied the launch wouldn't be overly strenuous. "If you can go on a roller coaster ride, like an intense roller coaster ride, you should be fine for flying on Dragon," Musk said of the contest, according to the *NYT*. ## Entry Fee Isaacman has [set up a site]() where would-be space travelers can apply to join the launch. There's no fee to enter, but making a donation to St. Jude raises an entrant's chances of winning. You can also apply for the entrepreneur seat on a separate page, [set up here](). This isn't SpaceX's first foray into space tourism. It previously [announced a program]() in which it would fly a high-paying customer around the Moon — but its [first planned passenger](), a Japanese billionaire named Yusaku Maezawa, later seemed to back out when he [claimed that he had gone broke](). **READ MORE:** [To Get on This SpaceX Flight, You Don’t Have to Be Rich, Just Lucky]() \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Elon Musk:** *[Elon Musk Directs his 43 Million Followers to Wall Street Bets]()* ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()