Trailblazing tourist trip to orbit ends with splashdown

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — A trailblazing tourist trip to orbit has ended safely with a splashdown in the Atlantic. A SpaceX capsule carrying four people parachuted into the ocean just before sunset Saturday, right off the Florida coast where their chartered flight began three days ago. The all-amateur crew was the first to circle the world without a professional astronaut. The billionaire who paid for the trip and his three guests wanted to show that ordinary people could rocket into orbit by themselves. They also used the flight to raise millions for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. A childhood cancer survivor, who now works for St. Jude, was among the passengers.