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"Falcon 9" before takeoff on the grounds of the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida
Photo: THOM BAUR / REUTERS
Three men and a woman set off for the International Space Station in a »Crew Dragon« from the private space company SpaceX.
The astronauts and the astronaut were launched on Friday morning local time using a "Falcon" -9 launcher from the Cape Canaveral spaceport in the US state of Florida, announced SpaceX and the US space agency Nasa.
SpaceX is reusing a used space capsule and rocket on the flight.
Due to unfavorable weather forecasts, the start originally planned for Thursday had been postponed to Friday.
The four astronauts are expected at the ISS on Saturday.
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The crew before the start
Photo: NASA / Aubrey Gemignani HANDOUT / EPA
The "Crew-2" consists of the two US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur as well as their Japanese colleague Akihiko Hoshide and the French Thomas Pesquet.
Pesquet is the first astronaut from the European space agency Esa to fly to the ISS on board a "Crew Dragon".
This is the second crew to be promoted from SpaceX to the ISS.
The first - US astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, as well as their Japanese colleague Soichi Noguchi - docked at the ISS in November.
They are scheduled to return to Earth at the end of April.
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"Crew-1" was the first to fly regularly with the "Crew Dragon" to the ISS after a manned test last spring was successful.
After a break of almost nine years, the test was the first time that astronauts have returned to orbit from American soil - and the first time ever that they have been promoted by a private space company.
SpaceX had previously only transported cargo to the ISS.
Chinese space station could replace ISS
While the Americans are reorganizing the transport to the aging ISS, in which Russians and Europeans are also involved, China is now working on building its own space station. If the obsolete ISS goes out of service in the coming years, China would be the only nation with an outpost in space thereafter. However, Russia and the USA are also considering their own space stations. First, however, it must be clarified how the ISS will proceed.
Three space flights are planned for the Chinese project in the next few weeks.
First, the core module "Tianhe" (Heavenly Harmony) is to be brought into space on board a rocket of the type "Long March 5B" from the Wenchang space station on the island of Hainan in southern China.
US experts expect the start next Thursday, but the date has not yet been officially confirmed.
The space station should be ready "around 2022".
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"Tianhe" is 16.6 meters long and 4.2 meters in diameter.
The core module provides electricity and propulsion and offers accommodation for three astronauts who can stay on board for up to six months.
Two more parts for scientific experiments are attached in a T-shape.
"The main difference to the ISS is that no one else takes part," said the former German astronaut Reinhold Ewald, now a professor at the University of Stuttgart.
Other countries are not involved in either construction or operation.
At least for the planned scientific experiments, an international cooperation with Germany among others is planned one day - with the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics in Garching.
Significantly smaller than the ISS
At around 90 tons, China's space station, which will be called Tiangong (Heavenly Palace) after completion, will be significantly smaller than the 240-ton ISS.
Shortly after the start of the Chinese core module, the cargo spacecraft "Tianzhou 2" could follow in May with fuel and supplies.
Three astronauts are also preparing to fly to Tianhe on board Shenzhou 12, possibly in June.
The construction phase requires a tight flight plan: a total of eleven flights are planned - three flights with modules, four cargo missions and four manned space flights, as announced by the Chinese space program.
With its two previous room laboratories "Tiangong 1" and "Tiangong 2", China has approached the project.
Refueling maneuvers and space walks were practiced.
The construction of the space station should actually start earlier, but problems with the necessary new launcher caused delays.
The construction phase has now been condensed in order to be finished in 2022 as originally planned.
jme / dpa
