SpaceX launches eighth long-duration crew for International Space Station orbit

NASA's SpaceX Crew-8 astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin launch to the International Space Station, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., March 3, 2024. REUTERS/Joe Skipper

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A SpaceX rocket safely lifted off from Florida on Sunday night carrying a crew of three U.S. astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) to begin a six-month science mission in Earth orbit.

The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket topped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule dubbed Endeavor was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, along Florida's Atlantic coast, at 10:53 p.m. EST (0353 GMT Monday).