It is the launch day of the Crew-4 mission, with astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) and her NASA colleagues Kjell Lindgren, in command, pilot Bob Hines and mission specialist Jessica Watkins.
Before leaving for launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral (Florida), the Italian astronaut greeted his children with a kiss.
Then, with her crewmates, she left her signature on one of the walls of the 'white room' which is just before entering the long connecting corridor leading to the capsule.
The launch, with a SpaceX Falcon 9, is scheduled for 3.52 am in Florida.
Crew-4 astronauts aboard the shuttle
All launch operations are proceeding smoothly for the launch of the Dragon Freedom Crew from ramp 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
The four crew members are already aboard the capsule, all procedures are taking place smoothly and the weather conditions are good.
The astronauts positioned themselves on the seats and, once the seat belts were fastened, they were rotated to a horizontal position.
The hatch of the capsule was also closed and the last phase of the countdown began.
The launch is scheduled at 9:52 am Italian time and the docking to the Space Station at 2.15 am on April 28th.