SpaceX Launches 2nd Crew: ‘Another Historic Moment’

Astronauts, from (L), Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi wave to family members as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip to Launch Pad 39-A and planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon capsule on a six-month mission to the International Space Station at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Nov. 15, 2020. John Raoux/AP Photo

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida—SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station on Sunday on the first full-fledged taxi flight for NASA by a private company.

The Falcon rocket thundered into the night from Kennedy Space Center with three Americans and one Japanese, the second crew to be launched by SpaceX. The Dragon capsule on top—named Resilience by its crew in light of this year’s many challenges, most notably COVID-19—was due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring.