SpaceX launches international crew of astronauts on space station mission

SpaceX and NASA launched a fresh crew of astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station, kicking off a roughly six-month stay in space.

The mission — which is carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates — took off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida at 12:34 a.m. ET Thursday.

The Crew Dragon, the vehicle carrying the astronauts, detached from the rocket after reaching orbit, and it’s expected to spend about one day maneuvering through space before linking up with the space station. The capsule is slated to dock at 1:17 a.m. ET Friday.

Thursday’s launch marked the second attempt to get this mission, called Crew-6, off the ground. The first launch attempt was grounded on Monday by what officials said was a clogged filter.