NASA launched its next astronaut rotation, Crew-7, to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, docking the following day. The four astronauts launched from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket in the Dragon spacecraft C210-3 Endurance. The first attempt stood down from the launch for issues relating to Dragon and the ISS.
The Crew-7 mission achieved several firsts, such as being the first flight for the Falcon 9 B1081 booster, which after separation returned to Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1). Further, it is the first SpaceX Crew Dragon mission piloted by a European, rather than a NASA astronaut. Lastly, it will also be the first time that four different space agencies are represented on a single Crew Dragon flight.