Claudia barilla

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - Canadian circus tycoon Guy Laliberte turned space into his big top Wednesday, boarding a Russian rocket and lifting off on a mission that mixes a serious message on water shortages with some clowning around in the cosmos.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - A Canadian circus tycoon, an American astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut blasted off in a spacecraft from the Kazakh steppe Wednesday on a journey to the International Space Station.

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - The man who plans to become the first circus clown in space, and who may be among the last of the space tourists, was greeted by a raucous crowds of friends and family Wednesday as he prepared to blast off for the International Space Station.