Watch: First Private Mission To ISS Takes Off. Tickets Cost $55 Million

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavor launched at 11:17 am (1517 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center.

The first fully private mission to the International Space Station blasted off from Florida Friday with a four-member crew from startup company Axiom Space. Liftoff of Falcon 9 and Dragon! pic.twitter.com/Ru5dTDI72J

NASA has hailed the three-way partnership with Axiom and SpaceX as a key step towards commercializing the region of space known as "Low Earth Orbit," leaving the agency to focus on more ambitious voyages deeper into the cosmos.