Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) launched on Wednesday the Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft carrying three United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronauts and one European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the Crew-4 mission.
The liftoff took place at 3:52 am ET at Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Merritt Island, Florida. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is the spacecraft commander, with Robert Hines as the pilot. Samantha Cristoforetti of ESA and Jessica Watkins from NASA are mission specialists.
"During their time at the orbiting laboratory, the Crew-4 astronauts will conduct over 200 science experiments in areas such as materials science, health technologies, and plant science to prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth," SpaceX said ahead of the launch.
