The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Inspiration4 crew launches from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 15, 2021. The Inspiration4 mission, the first to send an all-civilian crew to orbit, will venture deeper into space than the International Space Station. AFP PHOTO
CAPE CANAVERAL: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying four space tourists blasted off Wednesday night (Thursday in Manila) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first mission to orbit the globe with an all-civilian crew.
A huge fireball illuminated the sky as the rocket's nine engines began to pull away from Earth at 8:02 p.m. (8:02 a.m. in Manila, Thursday).