A SpaceX Dragon capsule, riding atop one of the company’s Falcon 9 rockets, carried the four Crew-10 astronauts — NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency,

After their flight was scrubbed on Wednesday, four astronauts successfully lifted off, which will allow two NASA astronauts to return to Earth after an unexpected extended stay in orbit.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on schedule in its second attempt Friday night, sending the Crew-10 mission on its way to the International Space Station. [Image: