Astronauts set US speed record during trip to International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.— Four astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a US speed record.The fresh arrivals include a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he’s away.SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for NASA after a three-week delay to fix their Dragon capsule’s leaking fuel system.

Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but in the end, the skies cleared enough to allow for a safe liftoff.Although their stay at the International Space Station will last a long six months, the flight there was the quickest yet not only for Elon Musk’s company, but any American entity, including NASA.The space station’s convenient location when the astronauts launched enabled the fast transit.With the late morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Watkins became the first black woman to lead a crew to orbit.

A geologist who worked with NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity a decade ago, Watkins is making her second trip to the space station following a lengthy stay in 2022.“Thanks for an amazing ride,” Watkins radioed following liftoff.The others are newcomers to space: NASA’s Luke Delaney, a retired Marine; Canada’s Joshua Kutryk, a colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force; and Russia’s Sergey Teteryatnikov, a former submariner.They will replace four astronauts who have been living at the orbiting laboratory since February.This was the 13th crew launched by SpaceX for NASA, not counting 2020’s test flight.

All four embrace their Crew-13 designation that pays homage in their mission patch to Apollo 13.The harrowing 1970 moonshot ended with the astronauts’ safe return.References to the number 13 abounded Thursday.

Watkins and her crew rode to the launch pad in black Teslas bearing plates that read “Lucky 13.” What’s more, they carried up a small crocheted golden dragon named Lucky with a four-leaf clover around its neck.“We fig...