Four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft were sent to the International Space Station via a Falcon 9 rocket.

According to a livestream on the SpaceX website, a Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying a crew of four was launched to the International Space Station by a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrier rocket.

At 17:37 local time, the missile launched from Cape Canaveral's Kennedy Space Center. Peggy Whitson, a NASA ex-astronaut who has flown to the International Space Station three times and holds the NASA record for time spent in orbit at 665 days, is leading the mission.

The Saudi astronauts Ali al-Qarni and Rayyanah Barnawi are also a part of the crew, along with businessman John Shoffner. The crew will conduct over 20 scientific and technological experiments during its nearly two-week mission.