The Crew-10 astronauts will replace four crew members who have been aboard the ISS for an extended stay—NASA’s Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore, along with Roscosm

Reaching orbit from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, the newest crew includes NASA’s Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, both military pilots; and Japan’s Takuya Onishi and Russia’s Kirill Peskov, both former airline pilots. They will spend the next six months at the space station, considered the normal stint, after springing Wilmore and Williams free.

A launch pad problem has forced a flight delay to replace NASA's two stuck astronauts. The new crew needs to get to the International Space Station before Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams can head home after nine months in orbit.

SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. ET (2303 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying four astronauts who will replace Wilmore and Williams, both of whom are veteran NASA astronauts and retired U.

SpaceX NASA Crew-10 mission JAXA Astronaut Takuya Onishi waves as he leaves the Operations and Checkout Building to board a Dragon capsule atop a Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida on Friday,

The crew-swap mission will enable NASA’s Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to return to Earth from the International Space Station.