SpaceX on Thursday for the seventh time launched an international crew of four astronauts -- two from NASA and one each from Roscosmos and the UAE.
"Liftoff! Dragon takes flight!" NASA wrote on Twitter.
The Crew-6 mission, launched to the International Space Station (ISS) at 12.34 a.m. ET (11.04 a.m. IST) from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida onboard the SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft.
The mission was originally scheduled to blast off to space on Monday, but was scrubbed a few minutes before the liftoff due to an issue with the ignition system.
It prevented data from confirming a full load of the ignition source for the Falcon 9 first stage Merlin engines, triethylaluminum triethylboron (or TEA-TEB).
Another launch opportunity on Tuesday was also dropped due to unfavourable weather forecast conditions, NASA and SpaceX had said.
The dragon carrying the crew is now expected to reach the ISS after a 25-hour journey and stay in the orbiting laboratory for six-months conducting scientific research.
The Crew 6 includes NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
Alneyadi will be making his first trip to space, representing the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center of the UAE.
Alneyadi will be the first UAE astronaut to fly on a commercial spacecraft. Once aboard the station, he will become a flight engineer for Expedition 69.
Fedyaev will be making his first trip to space, and will also serve as a mission specialist, working to monitor the spacecraft during the dynamic launch and re-entry phases of flight. He will be a flight engineer for Expedition 69.
The team is expected to perform more than 200 science, technology demonstrations, and maintenance activities aboard the microgravity laboratory.
The experiments include studies of how particular materials burn in microgravity, tissue chip research on heart, brain, and cartilage functions, and an investigation that will collect microbial samples from the outside of the space station.
The flight is the sixth crew rotation mission with SpaceX to station, and the seventh flight of Dragon with people as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Programme.
The SpaceX Dragon Endeavour spacecraft previously flew NASA's Crew-1, Inspiration4, and Axiom Mission-1 astronauts.
As part of the refurbishment process, teams have installed new components, including the heat shield, nosecone, trunk and all forward bulkhead and service section Draco engines. These hardware components help the spacecraft withstand reentry heat, support docking and cargo space, and provide steering and thrust to the spacecraft.
During their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-6 will also see the arrival of cargo spacecraft including the SpaceX Dragon and the Roscosmos Progress.
Crew-6 also is expected to welcome the agency's Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts and the Axiom Mission-2 crew during their expedition.
At the conclusion of the mission, Dragon Endeavour will autonomously undock with the four crew members aboard, depart the space station and re-enter Earth's atmosphere.
New AI algorithm to predict risk of cardiovascular events, heart-related death
A team of researchers in South Korea has developed a novel artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithm that uses electrocardiograph (ECG)2 data to predict the risk of cardiovascular events, and heart-related death.
India successfully flight-tests indigenously-developed vertically-launched Surface-to-Air Missile
In a boost to India's precision firepower, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy conducted the successful flight-test of indigenously-developed Vertically-Launched Short-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VLSRSAM) on Wednesday, an official statement said.
Unplanned welcome: Dolphins greet astronauts as they return home after extended space mission
Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, along with NASA’s Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, have returned to Earth after a lengthy journey that turned a planned eight-day mission into a nine-month in space.
Stranded US astronauts return to Earth, after nine months in space
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carrying them and two other astronauts—Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov—splashed down into the waters off the coast of Florida state just minutes before 6 p.m., as NASA had announced.
Google to acquire cloud security platform Wiz for $32 billion
Tech major Google on Tuesday announced to acquire Wiz, a leading cloud security platform headquartered in New York, for $32 billion in an all-cash transaction.
Ahead of Sunita William’s ‘homecoming’, PM Modi pens letter to India’s illustrious daughter
As the NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore begin their journey back home from space, after staying ‘stranded’ at the International Space Station (ISS) for about nine months, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has written a letter to one of India’s most illustrious daughters hoping for her safe return.
Sunita Williams set to return to Earth tomorrow
With the pair of US astronauts stranded for more than nine months on the International Space Station (ISS), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has confirmed that the duo will return to Earth on Tuesday evening.
SpaceX crew-10 docks at ISS, to bring home Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore this week
SpaceX's Crew-10 mission successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday, bringing hope for the return of two NASA astronauts -- Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore -- who have been stuck in orbit for months.