SpaceX successfully launches Polaris Dawn civilian crew during early morning hours

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- SpaceX early Tuesday successfully launched the Polaris Dawn mission with four civilians who will travel the farthest into space humans have gone in more than 50 years.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:24 a.m. EDT from Florida's Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center after a planned launch at 3:38 a.m. was delayed due to weather.

The booster landed on the drone ship named "Just Read the Instructions" roughly 10 minutes after liftoff even as the National Hurricane Center is tracking two tropical disturbances in the Atlantic Ocean.

As of 5:38 a.m. SpaceX said the crew was Zero-G.

A live webcast chronicled the launch and a site offers users the ability to track the crew throughout the journey.

Photos from today's launch of the Polaris Dawn mission from pad 39A in Florida pic.twitter.com/SUqSW8CSpj — SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 10, 2024

Three previous Polaris Dawn launch dates dating back to Aug. 28 had been scrubbed because of bad weather conditions at the launch site or the booter landing site.

The Federal Aviation Administration also briefly grounded the company's Falcon 9 after an uncrewed landing incident on a landing barge in the Atlantic.

The first commercial spacewalk in history is planned during the five-day mission. And the Dragon capsule will fly farther into space than any human has flown since the Apollo missions ended in 1972 with trips to the moon.

The SpaceX Dragon capsule is scheduled to go 870 miles above Earth in a trajectory that will take the crew through the treacherous inner regions of the planet's Van Allen radiation belts.

Billionaire philanthropist Jared Isaacman will command the mission, which will be his second trip to space during which he'll be joined by pilot Scott "Kidd" Poteet and SpaceX employees Sarah Gillis and Anna Menon.

SpaceX, which is owned by another billionaire, Elon Musk , said the all-civilian crew is also expected to conduct 36 research studies and experiments on behalf of 31 partner companies that are "destined to advance both human health on Earth and during long-duration spaceflight."