---
title: "Video Shows SpaceX Tourists Opening Spacecraft’s Glass Dome For the First Time"
description: "SpaceX tourist Sian Proctor shared a video of a truly precious moment: the first time the crew got to open the hatch to the Crew Dragon's glass dome."
date: "2021-09-21"
modified: "2021-09-21"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/video-shows-spacex-tourists-opening-spacecrafts-glass-dome-for-the-first-time"
categories:
  - "Space"
  - "SpaceX"
tags:
  - "crew dragon"
  - "space tourism"
  - "SpaceX"
  - "the digest"
---

# Video Shows SpaceX Tourists Opening Spacecraft’s Glass Dome For the First Time

![SpaceX tourist Sian Proctor shared a video of a truly precious moment: the first time the crew got to open the hatch to the Crew Dragon's glass dome.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/video-shows-spacex-tourists-opening-spacecrafts-glass-dome-for-the-first-time.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: SpaceX\</em\>*

## Pod Bay Doors

After [much waiting](<https://futurism.com/billionaire-space-tourist-explain-lack-footage>), we're finally getting to some of the footage recorded during last week's historic all-civilian flight into orbit.

SpaceX tourist and science communications specialist Sian Proctor [shared a video](<https://twitter.com/DrSianProctor/status/1440406356670894080>) of a truly precious moment: the first time the Inpsiration4 crew got to open the hatch to [the Crew Dragon's massive glass dome](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/view-spacex-inspiration4-toilet-incredible>) — a "true highlight of the Inspiration4 mission," according to Proctor.

https://twitter.com/DrSianProctor/status/1440406356670894080

## Mind Blown

To foster a more compelling tourism experience, SpaceX decided to [replace the Crew Dragon's docking module](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/spacex-dome-space-tourists>), normally used to dock with the International Space Station, with a massive glass dome or "cupola."

About 20 minutes into [last week's launch](<https://futurism.com/spacex-successfully-launches-first-all-civilian-space-mission>), the crew got to open the hatch for the first time — and the video speaks for itself. Cancer survivor and crew member Hayley Arceneaux appears to be speechless at the sight towards the end of the movie.

"Holy shit," former Space Camp counselor and crew member Chris Sembroski could be heard muttering in the background.

## Epic Moment

The crew also decided to play "Also sprach Zarathustra," composed in 1896 by Richard Strauss, while opening the hatch. The piece was famously used in the sci-fi epic "2001: A Space Odyssey."

So there we have it, folks: the best advertisement SpaceX could possibly ask for for its space tourism business. Let's just hope they [sort out that toilet problem](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/elon-musk-challenges-toilet-tourist-spacecraft>) for next time.

**More on the flight:** *[New York Times Compares Astronauts to Dung-Eating Fungus](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/astronauts-dung-eating-fungus>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)