The billionaire Canadian founder of the global circus brand, Cirque du Soleil, has become the world's latest space tourist.
Guy Laliberte blasted off from Russia's Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for the International Space Station on a Russian rocket.
Mr Laliberte, a former fire-eater and stiltwalker, is taking nine red clown noses into space - one for each member of the ISS crew - and has said he will not abandon his lighter side once in space.
He is joined on the two-week mission by Jeffrey Williams of the US and Russia's Maxim Surayev.
Mr Laliberte, who is 50, is reported to have spent $35m to take part in the mission.
He is the seventh space tourist.
The three-man crew is due to dock with the International Space Station in two days.
Mr Laliberte, who turned a passion for acrobatics and circus acts into a global entertainment empire, wants to find inspiration in the weightless world of space and promote the importance of access to clean water on Earth.
He plans to hold a performance broadcast live on the Internet on 9 October, linking 14 cities across the world to underline the importance of access to water.
