Houston-based Axiom Space launched its fourth crewed mission to the International Space Station (ISS) overnight, lifting off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KCS), in Florida. The mission got underway early Wednesday, lifting off from KSC's Launch Complex-39A at 2:31 a.m. EDT (0631 GMT).

Joining Whitson are first-time fliers Shubhanshu Shukla from India, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland, and Tibor Kapu from Hungary. The mission brings a return to human spaceflight for these three countries, as in over 40 years the countries have not seen a government-sponsored astronaut.