SpaceX launches 4 astronauts in historic mission

A team of astronauts from three different countries is now hurtling through space, after another successful launch of an Elon Musk company rocket in the Florida darkness.

The launch of SpaceX Crew Dragon (Crew-2) was notable for being the first spacecraft to ever use a previously-used rocket booster and capsule, called "Endeavor", which had previously sent two astronauts to the International Space Station in May of 2020.

The crew of four -- Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur from the United States' NASA program, Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency and Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency -- are also headed for the International Space Station (ISS) and are expected to arrive Saturday morning. They will remain there for about six months.

Endeavor sat atop the "Falcon 9" rocket, which had been used in a previous mission to the ISS, in November.

Musk's Space X program has been promoting its use of recycled space travel components as a way to cut down on the costs of space travel. It was the third successful launch of a Musk rocket.

"...and liftoff! Godspeed, Endeavor and Crew-2", a female voice was heard from NASA's mission control, as the rocket blasted off, and lit up the night sky over Florida. Multiple times later, cheers and applause erupted from mission control, as the mission completed various stages of the flight.

Although a bit overshadowed by political and racial unrest in America, this has been a groundbreaking month for NASA.

Just this week, NASA's Mars Rover successfully converted carbon dioxide into oxygen on Mars for the first time. And NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter embarked on its second experimental test flight over the red planet.

Hours before Friday's launch, astronaut Pesquet tweeted a photo of himself and his three smiling fellow crew members, lounging on a Florida beach.

"The calm before the storm," he wrote.