<p>A Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two fellow astronauts lifted off on schedule on Wednesday from the Baikonur launch facility atop a towering Russian rocket.<br /><br />Laliberte, US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev got a rousing sendoff from friends and family at the Russian launch facility on the Kazakh steppe. They are expected to arrive at the orbital outpost on Friday.<br /><br />Laliberte plans to help publicise the world's growing shortage of clean water. But he's also doing his best to make the trip fun. The entertainer donned a bulbous red clown nose before boarding the capsule and brought several of the novelty noses for his crew mates.</p>
<p>A Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte and two fellow astronauts lifted off on schedule on Wednesday from the Baikonur launch facility atop a towering Russian rocket.<br /><br />Laliberte, US astronaut Jeffrey Williams and Russian cosmonaut Maxim Surayev got a rousing sendoff from friends and family at the Russian launch facility on the Kazakh steppe. They are expected to arrive at the orbital outpost on Friday.<br /><br />Laliberte plans to help publicise the world's growing shortage of clean water. But he's also doing his best to make the trip fun. The entertainer donned a bulbous red clown nose before boarding the capsule and brought several of the novelty noses for his crew mates.</p>