Crew for space station has 4 astronauts from 4 nations

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida — Four astronauts from four countries rocketed toward the International Space Station on Saturday.

They were due to reach the orbiting lab in their SpaceX capsule on Sunday, replacing four astronauts living there since March.

A NASA astronaut was joined on the predawn liftoff from Kennedy Space Center by fliers from Denmark, Japan and Russia. They clasped one another's gloved hands upon reaching orbit.

It was the first US launch in which every spacecraft seat was occupied by a different country. Until now NASA had always included two or three of its own on its SpaceX taxi flights.

"We're a united team with a common mission," NASA's Jasmin Moghbeli radioed from orbit.

NASA's Ken Bowersox, space operations mission chief, said: "Boy, what a beautiful launch ... and with four international crew members, really an exciting thing to see."

Moghbeli, a Marine pilot serving as commander, is joined on the six-month mission by the European Space Agency's Andreas Mogensen, Japan's Satoshi Furukawa and Russia's Konstantin Borisov.

"To explore space, we need to do it together," the European Space Agency's director general, Josef Aschbacher, said minutes before liftoff. "Space is really global, and international cooperation is key."

One of the perks of an international crew, the astronauts said, is the food. Among the delicacies soaring: Persian herbed stew, Danish chocolate and Japanese mackerel.

SpaceX's first-stage booster returned to Cape Canaveral, Florida, several minutes after liftoff, an extra treat for the thousands of spectators gathered in the early-morning darkness.

Liftoff was delayed by a day for additional data reviews of valves in the capsule's life-support system. The countdown was almost halted again on Saturday after a tiny fuel leak cropped up in the capsule's thruster system.

SpaceX engineers managed to verify the leak would pose no threat with barely two minutes remaining on the clock, said Benji Reed, the company's senior director for human spaceflight.

Agencies Via Xinhua