SpaceX has launched the first-ever tourist flight to space

Following Jeff Bezos’ jolly into space in a giant penis rocket, Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched the world’s first all-civilian crew into orbit on a private flight that will circle Earth for three days.

The four-person pedestrian crew blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the early hours of this morning (1AM BST, September 16). It’s the first time a rocket has streaked toward orbit with a crew containing no professional astronauts. 

“It blows me away, honestly,” SpaceX director Benji Reed said in a press release. “It gives me goosebumps even right now to talk about it.”

The mission marks a major milestone in the burgeoning space tourism industry, which has drawn in competition from the likes of billionaires Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic’s Richard Branson.

Picking up the entire tab for the flight is 38-year-old billionaire and crew member Jared Isaacman, though he won’t reveal how many millions the trip has set him back. He is joined by Hayley Arceneaux, a 29-year-old childhood cancer survivor who works as a physician assistant at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Isaacman has pledged $100m of his own money to the hospital and is seeking another $100m in donations.

Also joining are the sweepstakes winners Chris Sembroski, 42, a data engineer in Everett, Washington, and Sian Proctor, 51, a community college educator in Tempe, Arizona.

SpaceX’s next private trip, early next year, will see a retired NASA astronaut escort three wealthy businessmen to the space station for a weeklong trip. Virgin Galactic is also offering flights to the edge of space for a meagre $450k per seat.

Space tourism company Space Perspective is offering mega-rich people a £90k balloon ride to space, while rapper Lil Uzi Vert is even attempting to buy his own planet – a claim that scientists have dismissed as “bogus”. 

Or, if like us, you’re not a billionaire, you can explore space virtually with this immersive VR experience – enjoy!