Four Astronauts Launch on a Fast Track to the International Space Station

Four astronauts from the United States, Canada and Russia rocketed toward the International Space Station on Thursday aboard a SpaceX capsule, beginning a stay of about six months on the orbiting laboratory.

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 11:10 a.m. Eastern time, according to NASA. Thick clouds had threatened the countdown but cleared in time, NBC News reported. The launch came about three weeks later than planned because engineers needed to repair a leak in the capsule’s fuel system.

The flight, known as Crew-13, is the 13th regular crew rotation SpaceX has flown for NASA, and the 14th SpaceX flight carrying NASA astronauts to the station when the 2020 test flight is counted. It was scheduled to take about eight hours from launch to arrival, the quickest trip yet for a SpaceX crew, meaning the astronauts could reach the station on the same day they left the ground.

The mission is commanded by NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, a geologist who worked on the Curiosity rover’s exploration of Mars and is making her second trip to the station. NBC reported that she is the first Black woman to command a crew to orbit. She is joined by NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, a retired Marine who serves as pilot; Joshua Kutryk, a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force flying for Canada; and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Russia, a former submariner.

The crew will replace four astronauts who have been aboard the station since February, and NASA lists the mission’s return for 2027. Teteryatnikov’s seat on an American capsule reflects the continuing cooperation between the two countries’ space agencies on the station.

The crew’s patch honors Apollo 13, the troubled lunar flight whose crew made it home, and the astronauts rode to the launch pad in cars bearing license plates that read Lucky 13. Watkins said the crew wanted to honor the resilience of that earlier team. Once in orbit, she thanked launch controllers for an amazing ride.

One personal detail drew attention before launch. Kutryk’s wife is expecting the couple’s third child in late November, while he is in orbit. NASA and the Canadian Space Agency said they plan to support the family, and a NASA manager, Dana Weigel, noted that a great deal can change over a six-month mission.