Europe 1 with AFP 6:27 am, September 16, 2021

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket took to the skies overnight Wednesday through Thursday from Cape Canaveral, Florida with four space tourists on board.

This is the first mission without a professional astronaut.

They will spend three days in orbit and circle the earth fifteen times.

Four American space tourists embarked on an incredible weightless journey on a SpaceX spacecraft on Wednesday, where they must spend three days orbiting the Earth without a professional astronaut on board, a historic first.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on time, 8:02 p.m. local (12:02 a.m. GMT Thursday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with a roar and fireball lighting up the night.

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"Many will follow"

A few minutes later, the first and then the second stage of the rocket separated, leaving the Dragon capsule and its passengers alone in the cosmos.

"Few have been there before and many will follow. The door is opening now, it's pretty amazing," billionaire Jared Isaacman, mission commander, said from inside the capsule after reaching space. .

They must travel farther than the International Space Station (ISS), at a target orbit of 575 km.

Each day they will circumnavigate the globe about 15 times.

Democratization of space

Called Inspiration4, the mission is supposed to embody a step towards the democratization of space, by proving that the cosmos is not reserved only for astronaut crews handpicked and trained over the years.

After receiving a visit from SpaceX boss Elon Musk, the four passengers made their way under the sun and applause from a small crowd towards the building where they then donned their custom-made suits.

Then they joined the legendary launch pad 39A - from where the Apollo 11 mission took off to the Moon - where they embarked, and, after a series of system checks, the capsule hatch was closed.

A spectacular view

Up there, they will be able to enjoy a spectacular view through a glass dome installed for the first time on Dragon.

At the end of their journey, they will begin a dizzying descent to land off Florida.

For SpaceX, this is nothing less than a first step towards a multiplanetary humanity - Elon Musk's ultimate vision.