SpaceX Launches Astronaut Crew Like No Other on Orbital Adventure

The Inspiration4 mission successfully lifted off from Florida, carrying with it an ambition of making spaceflight more accessible to the broader public.

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket lifted off on Wednesday night from a launchpad here, carrying four Americans on an adventure to orbit the Earth for three days that will be like no other.

None of the crew works for NASA. The mission, known as Inspiration4, is the first orbital trip where not one of the people aboard is a professional astronaut and where government is, by and large, a bystander and observer.

The evening sky was nearly devoid of clouds when the nine engines of the Falcon 9 rocket ignited, lifting the rocket and its passengers to space.