KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — An hour before sunrise Friday, four astronauts launched from Florida for SpaceX’s third crewed mission to the International Space Station. The rocket’s trail glowed in the pitch-black sky as much of the Space Coast was still asleep.
NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, joined by France’s Thomas Pesquet and Japan’s Akihiko Hoshide, lifted off from launchpad 39A at Kennedy Space Center on time at 5:49 a.m. They were expected to dock at the ISS in about 24 hours and live aboard the station for six months conducting science experiments.
“It’s great to be back in space for all of us,” Kimbrough told ground teams just after 6 a.m. as the rocket flew at 17,000 mph.
