CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (WFLA) — NASA and SpaceX launched a crew from Florida to the International Space Station early Thursday morning.

Astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, along with Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev and United Arab Emirates astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, were strapped into the capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket.

The crew launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. They will replace four space station crew members who have been at the station since October.

More space stories:

    • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off in this time exposure photograph from Launch Pad 39-A Thursday, March 2, 2023, at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Four astronauts are beginning a mission to the International Space Station. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
    • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
    • A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the crew capsule Endeavour lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Thursday, March 2, 2023. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

    While the crew is on the orbiting laboratory, SpaceX said it will “conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations in areas such as life and physical sciences to advanced materials, technology development, in-space production applications, and even student-led research.”

    According to SpaceX, the Dragon spacecraft supporting the mission previously flew Demo-2, Crew-2, and Axiom Space’s Ax-1 to and from the space station.

    After stage separation, the rocket’s first stage will land on the Just Read the Instructions drone ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

    You can watch a video of the launch taken from Tampa International Airport in the video player above.