SpaceX's all-civilian crew splashes down to Earth

The first citizen astronaut crew safely splashed down off the coast of Florida on Saturday after a three-day flight in SpaceX's "Resilience" spacecraft.

It was the first launched into Earth's orbit without a career astronaut onboard, in an effort to ramp up space tourism.

Applause was hard from mission control, as the SpaceX capsule parachuted into calm seas shortly before sunset.

Within an hour, the four crew members were seen smiling, emerging from the capsule's side hatch.

Each waved and gave a thumbs-up to the cameras.

They were cheered again as they stepped onto the deck of the recovery ship.

The amateur astronauts were then flown by helicopter back to land to reunite with loved ones.

Onboard "Resilience" was 29-year-old physician assistant and childhood bone cancer survivor, Hayely Arceneaux, who became the youngest person to ever reach Earth's orbit.

Alongside her was a former NASA astronaut candidate, an Air Force veteran and a billionaire who paid for the tickets, Jared Isaacman.

Their successful mission marked the debut flight of SpaceX's new astro-tourism business.

Time magazine estimates Isaacman paid roughly $200 million for the four spaceflight tickets.