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SpaceX Launches to Send Four Astronauts to International Space Station, Including Its First Black Crew Member

The astronauts are scheduled to reach the ISS by 11 p.m. Monday. Among them is Victor J. Glover, who will be the ISS’ first Black crew member.

Buoyed by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the Crew Dragon capsule launched into space Sunday night, carrying a team of four astronauts bound for a six-month stay on the International Space Station. Among them is Victor Glover, the first Black extended crew member on the ISS, as well as two other NASA astronauts and ISS veterans Michael S. Hopkins and Shannon Walker. The fourth is Soichi Noguchi of JAXA, Japan’s space agency. “It is something to be celebrated once we accomplish it, and I am honored to be in this position and to be a part of this great and experienced crew,” Glover told media. They are expected to arrive on the ISS on Monday around 11 p.m. Eastern, joining three other astronauts: NASA’s Kate Rubins and two astronauts from Russia’s space program. For six months, the Crew Dragon astronauts will oversee scientific experiments and space station maintenance while educating those on the ground.