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Four astronauts shook into orbit on their way to the International Space Station Friday evening.
NASA astronauts Anne McLain and Nicole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Onysia and Russian astronaut Kirill Peskov were lifted from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at 7:03pm and glowed in the blue sky over Florida, roughly 48 hours after the first launch.
“This mission is proof of what humans can achieve when we work together. The Ayers radioed mission control over the final minutes of the smooth countdown.
Flight, a mission known as Crew 10, was a regular part of the rotation between a regular rotation of NASA crew members and a space station. But that’s attracting more attention than usual, as it means that NASA astronauts Snie Williams and Butch Willmore are eventually trapped in a much-anticipated flight to Earth.
Crew-10 Missions Roscosmos Cosonaut Kirill Peskov, NASA ASTRONUTS NICHOLE AYERES and ANNE MCCLAIN and JAXA ASTRONUT TAKUYA ONISHI on Wednesday. (Greg Newton/AFP/Getty Images)
Williams and Wilmore have been in the spotlight for months due to unusual circumstances in orbit. The pair was expected to stay at the space station for just a week in June as part of a test flight for the first crew of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, but vehicle issues forced them to stay at the front post base in orbit.
The new crew will ease Williams, Willmore and two others. The approximately six-month stint will be concluded at the space station, including NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Russian astronaut Alexander Golvnov.
The astronauts on crew 10 were in orbit on top of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. About ten minutes after the lift-off, the first reusable booster phase successfully returned to Earth and returned to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“Tonight was the honor of flying with you,” SpaceX flight director said to the orbital crew on the radio. “We will cheer you up on your journey and give our crew to our best.”
The 10 astronauts with crew will spend more than 28 hours in low-Earth orbit, traveling to a space station. They are expected to arrive at the front post base on orbit on Saturday. The resigning crew was then able to depart on Wednesday, March 19th, according to NASA.
More than 270 people arrived at the space station. NASA astronauts Butchwillmore and Snee Williams arrived on June 6th. (NASA)
This week’s scrubbed launch attempts have been added to the drama of the situation. There was just over 40 minutes left on Wednesday due to an issue with one of the ground systems on the launch pad. The four astronauts were already tied inside the dragon capsule when the decision was made.
Launchpad issues delayed flights to the International Space Station on Wednesday, replacing two NASA stabbed astronauts.
The Crew 10 Group consists of a combination of veterans and first timer. McLain and Onisi visit the space station for the second time, while Ayers and Peskov are in their first space flight. All four astronauts share a common background as pilots.
Arrivals at the space station begin a handover period that normally lasts several days, with new crews being trained and speeding up on scientific experiments, maintenance work, and other projects.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket is being prepared for launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday. (Craig Bailey/Reuters)
Williams, Wilmore, The Hague and Golbunov return to the home of the SpaceX Dragon Capsule, where The Hague and Golbunov flew to the space station in September. The two seats were intentionally kept empty, allowing coworkers to return to Earth later.
The Starliner spacecraft, which Williams and Wilmore flew into space, ran into several issues as they docked into orbital labs in June. After months of research and testing, NASA decides to bring Starliner craft back to Earth without anyone on board, making the astronaut duo wait for them to board the SpaceX vehicle instead.
Their unexpected, long stay in low-earth orbit has recently become political buzz. SpaceX CEOs Elon Musk and President Donald Trump make unfounded claims that the Biden administration supported a flight to Earth for political reasons. Trump also said he recently left Musk to bring astronauts home. However, NASA has planned to use SpaceX vehicles in its return journey since it was announced in August.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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