Inspiration4: SpaceX launches 4 amateurs on private Earth-circling trip
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 100 miles (160 kilometers) 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.
It's SpaceX founder Elon Musk's first entry in the competition for space tourism dollars. Isaacman is the third billionaire to launch this summer, following the brief space-skimming flights by Virgin Galactic's Richard Branson and Blue Origin's Jeff Bezos in July.
Joining Isaacman on the trip dubbed Inspiration4 is Hayley Arceneaux, 29