A Bitcoin investor who bought a flight from SpaceX for himself and three polar explorers set off on his first rocket journey on Monday. He will fly over the North and South Poles.
Chinese-born entrepreneur Chun Wang launched into orbit from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A SpaceX Falcon rocket headed south over the Atlantic Ocean, sending space tourists on a journey unprecedented in the 64-year history of human spaceflight.
Wang did not say how much Elon Musk paid SpaceX for the 3.5-day polar adventure.
The first leg of their flight from Florida to the South Pole lasted just half an hour. From an altitude of about 270 miles (440 kilometers), their fully automated capsule will orbit the Earth in about 1.5 hours, with the pole-to-pole flight taking 46 minutes.
"Enjoy "Views of the poles. Send us some pictures," SpaceX's mission control center reported as the capsule reached orbit.
