First all-private astronaut team lifts off for ISS in milestone SpaceX flight

Crew of four on way to space station in mission hailed by Nasa as putting commercial business up in space'

A SpaceX rocket ship has blasted off carrying the first all-private astronaut team ever launched to the International Space Station (ISS), a flight hailed by industry executives and Nasa as a milestone in the commercialisation of spaceflight.

The team of four selected by Houston-based startup Axiom Space Inc for its debut spaceflight and orbital science mission lifted off on Friday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida.