NASA’s SpaceX Crew-4 Launches To Space With Jessica Watkins First Black Woman To Stay Long Term in the ISS

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts successfully launched, embarking on a historic mission with Jessica Watkins as the first black woman to stay long term on the International Space Station.

The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft lifted off at 3:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 27, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida's Launch Complex 39A.

The fourth commercial crew rotation mission aboard the International Space Station will feature an international crew of astronauts.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 Launch

SpaceX successfully deployed its fourth astronaut trip to the International Space Station for NASA on Wednesday, increasing the company's total number of crewed missions to seven so far.

The Dragon spacecraft was launched into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Pilot Bob Hines, and Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

The space station's crew will conduct a science expedition in microgravity while onboard the station.

This Crew-4 mission marks the first launch for Hines and Watkins, as well as Lindgren and Cristoforetti's second voyage to the International Space Station.

As CNN reports, according to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 "will carry out research investigations that will help NASA prepare for longer duration stays on the Moon - and eventually Mars."

"These missions wouldn't be possible without the dedicated NASA and SpaceX teams here on Earth," Nelson added.

NASA associate administrator Kathryn Lueders stated, "NASA, SpaceX and our international partners have worked tirelessly to ensure that the International Space Station continues conducting important research in microgravity, and working on a whole host of activities that benefit humanity and opens up access to more people in space."

Additional, Luedres said, "Crew-4's launch, less than two days after the return of the first all-private mission to station, exemplifies the spirit and success of the Commercial Crew Program to help maximize use of low-Earth orbit for years to come, testing the technologies we need for the Artemis program and beyond."

It was launched aboard a new Dragon spacecraft, which the crew called Freedom and a Falcon 9 rocket. NASA astronauts will be on board for the sixth time on this mission, which is part of the agency's Commercial Crew Program.

Crew-4's launch date was originally set for a week earlier, but it was postponed due to Ax-1's delayed departure from the International Space Station. On top of that, NASA and SpaceX support workers required up to two days between Ax-1's return and Crew-4's launch in order to "perform data reviews and stage recovery assets," as reported by Space.com.

NASA's Jessica Watkins

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will make history by becoming the first black woman to complete this prolonged mission on the ISS.

Although more than a dozen Black Americans have traveled to space since Guion Bluford became the first in 1983, no Black woman has had the opportunity to live and work in space for an extended period of time.

This must be a dream come true for Jessica Watkins, as she had been in a long-standing relationship with NASA.

Watkins, a geologist by training, was known for her research on Mars' surface. A long-time NASA employee, she began her professional career there as an intern and has previously held positions at the agency's Ames Research Center and has worked with the Curiosity Mars rover.