A Falcon 9 rocket launched 4 astronauts safely into orbit on Friday night, marking the official starting of the Crew-10 mission to the Worldwide House Station.

Though any crew launch into orbit is notable, this mission comes with an added little bit of significance as its success clears the best way for 2 NASA astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, to lastly return house from area after a saga spanning 9 months.

Friday’s launch got here two days after an preliminary try was scrubbed on Wednesday night. This was resulting from a hydraulic situation with the bottom methods that deal with the Falcon 9 rocket at Launch Complicated 39A in Florida.

There have been no technical points on Friday, and with clear skies NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov rocketed easily into orbit.

If all goes effectively, the Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying the 4 astronauts will dock with the area station at 11:30 pm ET on Saturday. They’ll spend about six months there.

An extended, unusual journey

Following their arrival on the area station, the members of Crew-10 will take part in a handover ceremony with the 4 astronauts of Crew-9, which incorporates Wilmore and Williams. This can clear the members of Crew 9 for departure from the station as early as subsequent Wednesday, March 19, pending good climate within the waters surrounding Florida for splashdown of Dragon.