SpaceX sends all-civilian crew on orbital mission
- First all-civilian crew ever launched on a flight to Earth orbit
- Flight expected to last three days from launch to splashdown
SpaceX’s first private flight blasted off 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 rocket streaked toward orbit with an all-amateur crew - no professional astronauts.
The Dragon capsule’s two men and two women are looking to spend three days circling the world from an unusually high orbit - 160km (100 miles) higher than the International Space Station - before splashing down off the Florida coast this weekend.
Leading the flight is Jared Isaacman, 38, who made his fortune with a payment-processing company he started in his teens.
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SpaceX launches first tourist crew into Earth’s orbit
Joining Isaacman on the trip dubbed Inspiration4 is Hayley Arceneaux, 29, a childhood cancer survivor who works as a doctor assistant where she was treated - St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman has pledged US$100 million out of his own pocket to the hospital and is seeking another US$100 million in donations.