New space station crew launched with four astronauts from four countries

(Patria) - Four astronauts from four countries were launched on Saturday towards the International Space Station, AP reported.

They are expected to arrive at the orbiting laboratory in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday, replacing four astronauts who have been living there since March.

NASA astronaut was joined on the pre-dawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center by fliers from Denmark, Japan and Russia.

It was the first U.S. liftoff in which every seat on the spaceship was occupied by a different country. NASA has always included two or three of its own on SpaceX taxi flights until now.

“We are a united team with a common mission,” said NASA’s Jasmin Mogbeli via radio from orbit. Moghbel, a Marine pilot serving as commander, is joined on the six-month mission by Andreas Mogensen of the European Space Agency, Japan’s Satoshi Furukawa and Russia’s Konstantin Borisov.

SpaceX’s first-stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral a few minutes after liftoff. The launch was delayed by one day for additional data reviews of valves in the capsule’s life-support system. The countdown nearly halted again on Saturday after a small fuel leak cropped up in the capsule’s thruster system. SpaceX engineers said the leak posed no threat.

Another NASA astronaut will head to the station from Kazakhstan in mid-September under a swap contract, along with two Russians. SpaceX has now launched eight crews for NASA. Boeing was contracted at the same time nearly a decade ago but has yet to fly astronauts. The crew capsule is grounded until 2024.
due to parachutes and other issues.