SpaceX Dragon crew blasts off for International Space Station

SpaceX launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA on March 2, including the first person from the Arab world going up for an extended monthslong stay. The Falcon rocket bolted from Kennedy Space Center shortly after midnight, illuminating the night sky as it headed up the East Coast.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off to the International Space Station carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and the second Emirati to voyage to space on March 2. Credit: AFP Photo

The SpaceX Dragon Crew-6 mission launched at 12:34 am (0534 GMT) from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a livestream of the launch showed. Credit: AFP Photo

NASA's Stephen Bowen and Warren Hoburg, Russia's Andrey Fedyaev and Sultan al-Neyadi of the United Arab Emirates are to spend six months on the orbiting station. Credit: AFP Photo

While aboard the ISS, the Crew-6 members will conduct dozens of experiments including studying how materials burn in microgravity and researching heart, brain and cartilage functions. Credit: Reuters Photo

The current crew is the sixth to be transported by a SpaceX rocket to the ISS. The Endeavour capsule has flown into space three times previously. Credit: Reuters Photo

NASA pays SpaceX to ferry astronauts to the ISS roughly every six months. Credit: AFP Photo