Tom Cruise talks to SpaceX's Inspiration4 crew members onboard the Dragon capsule

Top Gun star Tom Cruise recently had a chat with the crew members of the Inspiration4 mission. Inspiration4 is an ongoing human spaceflight mission operated by SpaceX, the first orbital spaceflight with only private citizens aboard without an astronaut. The official Twitter handle of the mission shared a tweet saying that the crew members abroad the dragon capsule spoke to Tom Cruise.

Tom Cruise talks to SpaceX crew

Tom Cruise got a sneak preview of what it’s like to circle Earth in a SpaceX capsule. Representatives for SpaceX’s first privately chartered flight revealed on Friday that the actor took part in a call with the four-space tourists orbiting more than 360 miles up. "Maverick, you can be our wingman anytime," came the announcement from the flight's official Twitter page. Cruise starred as Navy pilot Pete 'Maverick' Mitchell in the 1986 film Top Gun.

This isn't the first time that the Mission Impossible actor has shown his interest in space. Last year, NASA confirmed it was in talks with Cruise about visiting the International Space Station for filming. SpaceX would provide the lift, as it does for NASA astronauts. In May 2020, Jim Bridenstine, then the administrator of NASA, confirmed that the space agency had talked with Cruise about shooting a film on the International Space Station.

More about Space X's Inspiration4

SpaceX’s first private flight streaked into orbit Wednesday night with two contest winners, a health care worker and their rich sponsor, the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It was the first time a spacecraft circled Earth with an all-amateur crew and no professional astronauts. The Dragon capsule’s passengers are looking to spend three days around the planet from an unusually high orbit, 100 miles (160 kilometres) higher than the International Space Station, before splashing down off the Florida coast this weekend. It’s SpaceX founder Elon Musk’s first entry in the competition for space tourism dollars. Four crew members on board the ship are Hayley Arceneaux, Christopher Sembroski, Sian Proctor and billionaire CEO of Shift4 Payments Jared Isaac, who is also the commander on the flight.

(With Inputs from AP)

Image: Twitter/@spaceX/AP