SpaceX rocket blasts off with first all-civilian crew
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying four space tourists blasted off Wednesday night from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first mission to orbit the globe with an all-civilian crew.
A huge fireball illuminated the sky as the rocket's nine engines began to pull away from Earth at 8:02 pm (0002 GMT Thursday).
Around 12 minutes later, the Dragon capsule separated from the rocket's send stage as the crew entered orbit, while the re-usable first stage made its way back to Earth for a vertical landing on a sea barge.
The spaceship's trajectory will take it to an altitude of 357 miles (575 kilometers), which is deeper into space than the International Space Station (ISS).
After spending three days spinning around the planet, the four-person crew, all Americans, will splash down off the Florida coast.
"The #Inspiration4 launch reminds us of what can be accomplished when we partner with private industry!" tweeted NASA administrator Bill Nelson ahead of the launch.
Building up commercial capability has been the vision of NASA's commercial crew program since it was founded in 2011.
SpaceX hasn't disclosed what the trip cost Isaacman, a highschool dropout who went on to found Shift4 Payments and is also a keen aviator. But the price tag runs into tens of millions of dollars.
