SpaceX Inspiration4 launch: 10 stunning photos captured by skygazers
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By Michelle Ewing, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Four amateurs – including billionaire Jared Isaacman, a health care worker and two contest winners – lifted off Wednesday night from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on SpaceX’s Inspiration4 flight orbiting the Earth, according to The Associated Press.
SpaceX launch The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with four private citizens on board, heads into space from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. (Chris O'Meara/AP)
SpaceX launch SpaceX Falcon 9 clears the launch pad Wednesday night. (Chris O'Meara/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday evening. (Chris O'Meara/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in this time-exposure photo from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch Inspiration4 passengers Hayley Arceneaux. background left; Chris Sembroski, foreground; Sian Proctor, center, and Jared Isaacman, background right, depart in front of family and friends on their way to Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch Jared Isaacman, left, and Hayley Arceneaux prepare to board the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sat on Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A before Wednesday's launch. (Chris O'Meara/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch Family and friends crowd around the vehicles carrying the Inspiration4 crew members as they prepare to leave for their flight on the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX launch Inspiration4 crew member Jared Isaacman waves to family members before heading to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch Photographers set up remote cameras to record the launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 on Wednesday. (John Raoux/Associated Press)
SpaceX launch The launch of SpaceX Falcon 9 on Wednesday marked the first time an all-civilian crew ventured into space. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX launch Family and friends hold a sign for Hayley Arceneaux, a physician's assistant at St. Jude and part of the Inspiration4 civilian crew that launched into space on SpaceX. (Eva Marie UZCATEGUI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Skygazers took to social media to share their photos of the historic all-civilian launch. Here are some of our favorites:
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken provided by SpaceX, a capsule carrying four people parachutes into the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. The all-amateur crew was the first to circle the world without a professional astronaut. (SpaceX via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image released by Inspiration4, passengers aboard a SpaceX capsule, from left to right, Hayley Arceneaux, Jared Isaacman, Sian Proctor and Chris Sembroski pose after the capsule was recovered following its splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (John Kraus/Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from video a SpaceX capsule carrying four people splashes down in the Atlantic off the Florida coast, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. The all-amateur crew was the first to circle the world without a professional astronaut. (Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from SpaceX video, passengers aboard a SpaceX capsule react as the capsule parachutes into the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (SpaceX via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from video, Jared Isaacman, one of four passengers aboard the SpaceX capsule, reacts after emerging from the capsule Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, after it was recovered following its splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. (Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth This photo provided by SpaceX shows the passengers of Inspiration4 in the Dragon capsule on their first day in space. They are, from left, Jared Isaacman, Hayley Arceneaux, Chris Sembroski and Sian Proctor. (SpaceX via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from video, Hayley Arceneaux, one of four passengers aboard the SpaceX capsule, reacts after emerging from the capsule Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, after it was recovered following its splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. (Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from SpaceX video a SpaceX capsule carrying four people is lifted from the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast onto a recovery vessel, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (SpaceX via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from video, Chris Sembroski, one of four passengers aboard the SpaceX capsule, reacts after emerging from the capsule Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, after it was recovered following its splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. (Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this image taken from video, Sian Proctor, one of four passengers aboard the SpaceX capsule, reacts after emerging from the capsule Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021, after it was recovered following its splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. (Inspiration4 via AP)
Photos: SpaceX Inspiration4 all-civilian crew safely returns to Earth In this combination of split screen images taken from SpaceX video, passengers aboard a SpaceX capsule, left, react as the capsule, right, parachutes into the Atlantic Ocean off the Florida coast, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. The all-amateur crew was the first to circle the world without a professional astronaut. (SpaceX via AP)