Four American tourists began a historic journey into space on Wednesday aboard a capsule from SpaceX that will orbit Earth for three days, marking the first flight in human history exclusively for regular passengers, with no professional astronauts aboard.
At precisely 20:02 (12:02 GMT Thursday), the Falcon 9 spacecraft launched from the iconic Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where Apollo missions to the Moon originated. Amidst a ball of fire illuminating the night, the spacecraft's nine engines powered the vehicle in a mission dubbed "Inspiration4."
Just minutes later, the first stage of the rocket separated successfully and returned to Earth without issues, allowing for its reuse, while the second stage took over the task of delivering the Dragon capsule to orbit.
Twelve minutes after liftoff, the second stage detached from the Dragon capsule, allowing the tourists to begin their journey in orbit around Earth, as broadcasted by the company owned by Elon Musk.
Billionaire Jared Isaacman, the mission's commander who chartered this flight, stated, "Few have gone before, and many will follow. The door is now open. It’s really amazing." The four passengers will spend three days orbiting Earth in a trajectory that exceeds that of the International Space Station.
