SpaceX launches rocket to return stranded astronauts

Following a scrubbed launch on Wednesday, Nasa and SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station last night.

- JULIA MUSTO

The Crew-10 mission lifted off from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft.

The mission includes Nasa’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos’ Kirill Peskov.

“Take two,” McClain wrote in a post on social media before the launch.

Wednesday’s attempt was thwarted by a hydraulic system issue with a ground support clamp arm for the rocket. The issue has reportedly been fixed.

The astronauts’ arrival at the orbiting laboratory is designed clear the way for Crew-9 to return to Earth, including Nasa astronauts Barry Wilmore and Sunita Williams. The pair have been on board since June.