4 civilians first to circle world in SpaceX capsule

Four space tourists safely ended their trailblazing trip to orbit Saturday with a splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast, U.S.

A trail illuminates the night sky as the rocket launches to space, Sept. 15, 2021.

For the first time in 60 years of human spaceflight, a rocket was launched into orbit with no professional astronauts on board, only four tourists.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sits on Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., Sept. 15, 2021.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon capsule lifts off from launch Pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration 4 civilian crew aboard a Crew Dragon capsule and SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches, Sept. 15, 2021.

The rocket heading toward the sky, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration4 crew of Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux posing in front of a rocket, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration 4 civilian crew aboard a Crew Dragon capsule and SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration4 crew of Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux poses while suited up ahead of their launch, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration4 crew of Chris Sembroski, Sian Proctor, Jared Isaacman and Hayley Arceneaux enjoy zero gravity conditions, Sept. 15, 2021.

Photographers set up remote cameras to record the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., Sept. 15, 2021.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 with the Crew Dragon capsule stands on Pad39A at sunrise in preparation for the Inspiration4 civilian crew mission at the Kennedy Space Center, Sept. 15, 2021.

The Inspiration4 civilian crew aboard a Crew Dragon capsule and SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket seen in the sky, Sept. 15, 2021.

The quartet of newly minted citizen astronauts comprising the SpaceX Inspiration4 mission safely splashes down in SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule off the coast of Kennedy Space Center, Florida, U.S. Sept. 18, 2021.

A crowd waits to see the Inspiration4 crew, the first all-civilian crew to be sent into orbit before they head to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Sept. 15, 2021.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifts off with four private citizens from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., Sept. 15, 2021.

A crowd cheers as the Inspiration4 crew gathers before donning space suits to head to the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Sept. 15, 2021.

Inspiration4 crew seen on their first day in space, Sept. 17, 2021

Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Shift4 Payments and flight commander, climbs into a Tesla as the Inspiration4 crew, before getting ready for the lift-off, Sept. 15, 2021.