June 24 (UPI) -- After numerous delays and scrubbed liftoffs, NASA, SpaceX and Axiom Space successfully launched their Axiom-4 mission early Wednesday, sending four astronauts in the fourth private commercial mission to the International Space Station.
Also, from Florida 13 hours later, SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink satellites from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Complex 40.
The first Falcon 9 rocket launched at 2:31 a.m. EDT on Wednesday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center's pad 39. As the countdown hit zero and the spacecraft began its ascent from Earth, cheers erupted from mission control during the live broadcast.
"Liftoff of Ax-4!" SpaceX celebrated on X, posting a 30-second clip of the liftoff.
Following confirmation of nominal orbit insertion, which occurred about 10 minutes after launch, the commander of the mission, American Peggy Whitson, said they were heading for the ISS.
"We had an incredible ride uphill and now we'd like to set our course for the International Space Station, aboard the newest member of the Dragon suite, our spacecraft named Grace," Whitson said.
"Grace is more than a name, it reflects the elegance with which we move through space against the backdrop of Earth ... Grace reminds us that spaceflight is not just a feat of engineering but an act of goodwill, for the benefit of every human, everywhere."
The first-stage booster, on its second flight, also returned to Earth and successfully landed on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral, about eight minutes into the flight.
Grace and its four-member crew -- Whitson, pilot Shubhanshu Shukla from India and mission specialists Slawosz Uzanański-Wiśniewksi from Poland and Tibor Kapu from Hungary -- are expected to dock with the ISS at 7 a.m. EDT Thursday.
"With a culturally diverse crew, we are not only advancing scientific knowledge but also fostering international collaboration," said Whitson in a quote from the Axiom Space website.
"Beautiful shot of our launch vehicle waiting patiently to take us to space," Whitson added in a post Tuesday morning.
The Axiom-4 mission was repeatedly delayed. A first launch attempt earlier this month was scrubbed due to high winds, and a second one was called off after SpaceX detected a liquid oxygen leak in its Falcon 9 rocket.
The launch was scrubbed again Sunday to ensure the ISS was ready to receive the new crew members, according to NASA. The station's orbital laboratory's Zvezda service module had recently been repaired, and NASA was reviewing data to ensure all systems were ready to handle additional people.
Axiom Space, which is based in Houston, is building the first commercial space station, scheduled to deploy sometime before 2030.
The Axiom-4 mission is scheduled to last 14 days. The crew will conduct 60 scientific experiments and demonstrations "focused on human research, Earth observation and life, biological and material sciences," according to SpaceX.
"Up next: Falcon 9 will launch Axiom Space's Ax-4 mission to the Space Station."
Starlink
SpaceX launched 27 satellites at 3:54 p.m. EDT.
About 8 minutes later, the Falcon 9 rocket's first stage returned to Earth and touched down on the droneship "Just Read The Instructions"positioned in the Atlantic Ocean.
It was the 20th recovery for booster B1080, which launched Axiom Mission 2, Axiom Mission 3, the European Space Agency's Euclid and 13 Starlink missions.
It was the 126th landing on the vessel and the 468th booster landing, Spaceflightnow reported.
There are already nearly 8,000 satellites in low Earth orbit.
SpaceX had targeted a 1:15 p.m. EDT liftoff but later pushed it to 1:22, then there were three other delays.
