Viewers of the live-streamed launch have been left saying the same thing (Image: Getty)
SpaceX launch viewers have made the same comment as they ‘pray’ for the crew’s return.
The Falcon 9 rocket, attached to the Dragon spacecraft, launched from ‘s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday (March 14). The aircraft is bound towards the International Space Station (ISS), carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov.
The official SpaceX account shared a video of the aircraft lifting off into space, which was captioned: “Liftoff of Crew-10!” Commenting on the clip, people watching the video have been left making similar remarks.
” and SpaceX stepping up once again,” one person wrote. “Praying for a safe return for the astronauts.”
Another added: “Way to go @elonmusk! What an incredible launch!” Meanwhile a third added: “God speed! Bring those folks back home!!”
:
Liftoff of Crew-10!
— SpaceX (@SpaceX)
“Go SpaceX, go NASA, go Dragon! Godspeed Crew-10! Wishing the 4 astronauts a safe journey to the International Space Station,” said a fourth.
The Crew-10 mission was meant to go ahead two days prior, but lift-off was pushed back due to a hydraulics glitch. Blast-off took place at 7.03pm local time.
The aircraft is expected to dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at about 11.30pm today (Saturday, March 15). The crew will then join Expedition 72/73 for a long-duration stay.
NASA acting Administrator Janet Petro said: “Congratulations to our NASA and SpaceX teams on the 10th crew rotation mission under our commercial crew partnership. This milestone demonstrates NASA’s continued commitment to advancing American leadership in space and driving growth in our national space economy.
“Through these missions, we are laying the foundation for future exploration, from low Earth orbit to the Moon and Mars. Our international crew will contribute to innovative science research and technology development, delivering benefits to all humanity.”
Crew-10 join a number of astronauts and cosmonauts already at the ISS. NASA astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Don Pettit, as well as Roscosmos cosmonauts Aleksandr Gorbunov, Alexey Ovchinin, and Ivan Vagner are already stationed there and the brief period of cross-over will bring the total number of people on the ISS to 11.
Hague, Williams, Wilmore, and Gorbunov – Crew-9 – will return to Earth no earlier than Wednesday, March 19, according to NASA.