SpaceX launches NASA’s Crew-13 mission to International Space Station

SpaceX launched four astronauts toward the International Space Station on Thursday aboard a Crew Dragon capsule, beginning NASA’s Crew-13 mission after weather concerns threatened the countdown.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The capsule, named Grace, was expected to dock with the station about eight hours after launch. NASA said the planned 7-hour, 50-minute journey would be the fastest trip by a U.S. spacecraft to the station if completed on schedule.

Watkins, the mission commander, is making her second spaceflight and became the first Black woman to lead a crew into orbit. Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov are each making their first trip to space.

The launch followed a roughly three-week delay while a leak in the capsule’s fuel system was repaired, according to The Guardian. Thick clouds and concerns about thunderstorms and gusty winds also posed potential obstacles on launch day, but conditions allowed the flight to proceed.

The crew is expected to spend up to six months aboard the station, replacing four astronauts who have been there since February. Their work will include station maintenance and research involving Parkinson’s disease treatments, crop production for long-duration missions and medical equipment for monitoring astronaut health.