A Russian rocket has lifted off carrying the first space tourist, Mr Dennis Tito, to the International Space Station.
The Soyuz rocket blasted off under sunny, blue skies, in Kazakstan, and disappeared into the clouds, leaving a trail of red flame.
The spaceship carrying Mr Tito, a 60-year-old California businessman, and two cosmonauts is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station on Monday.
Until the eve of the launch, US and Russian space officials had argued about the overlap of the Soyuz rocket launch and the continued docking of US space shuttle Endeavourat the space station.
The eleventh-hour dispute over the timing of the lift-off followed a long wrangle over whether a tourist should go to the space station at all.
NASA tried to block the flight, insisting that Mr Tito's presence could jeopardise the work of the ISS crew.
But Russian officials said that Mr Tito, a former rocket engineer who is paying up to $20 million for the trip, received the equivalent of a professional cosmonaut's training.
Mr Tito said he had no apprehensions about the dangers of space flight - something he dreamed about since the Sputnik was launched in 1957.