Four crew members from four countries rocketed toward the International Space Station on August 26. They should reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule on August 27, replacing four astronauts living up there since March. A NASA astronaut was joined on the predawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center by fliers from Denmark, Japan, and Russia. It was the first U.S. launch where every spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country -- until now, NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX taxi flights. A fluke in timing led to the assignments, officials said. To read the original story by AP, click here.
Russian, Japanese, Danish, And U.S. Crew Members Blast Off For Space Station
The SpaceX Falcon 9 blasts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on August 26.