- Police arrest suspect who set woman on fire in New York subway
- China vows 'cooperation' over ship linked to severed Baltic Sea cables
- Australian tennis star Purcell provisionally suspended for doping
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate fears
- Luxury Western goods line Russian stores, three years into sanctions
- Wallace and Gromit return with comic warning about AI dystopia
- Philippine military says will acquire US Typhon missile system
- Afghan bread, the humble centrepiece of every meal
- Honda and Nissan expected to begin merger talks
- 'Draconian' Vietnam internet law heightens free speech fears
- Israeli women mobilise against ultra-Orthodox military exemptions
- Asian markets track Wall St rally as US inflation eases rate worries
- Tens of thousands protest in Serbian capital over fatal train station accident
- Trump vows to 'stop transgender lunacy' as a top priority
- Daniels throws five TDs as Commanders down Eagles, Lions and Vikings win
- 'Who's next?': Misinformation and online threats after US CEO slaying
- Only 12 trucks delivered food, water in North Gaza Governorate since October: Oxfam
- InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Announces Transaction in Own Shares - December 23
- Melrose Group Publicly Files Complaint to the Ontario Securities Commission
- Langers edge Tiger and son Charlie in PNC Championship playoff
- Explosive batsman Jacobs gets New Zealand call-up for Sri Lanka series
- Holders PSG edge through on penalties in French Cup
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin to talk gas deliveries
- Daniels throw five TDs as Commanders down Eagles
- Atalanta fight back to take top spot in Serie A, Roma hit five
- Mancini admits regrets over leaving Italy for Saudi Arabia
- Run machine Ayub shines as Pakistan sweep South Africa
- Slovak PM Fico on surprise visit to Kremlin
- Gaza rescuers say Israeli strikes kill 35
- 'Incredible' Liverpool must stay focused: Slot
- Maresca 'absolutely happy' as title-chasing Chelsea drop points in Everton draw
- Salah happy wherever career ends after inspiring Liverpool rout
- Three and easy as Dortmund move into Bundesliga top six
- Liverpool hit Spurs for six, Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth
- Netanyahu vows to act with 'force, determination' against Yemen's Huthis
- Mbappe back from 'bottom' as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- Ali hat-trick helps champions Ahly crush Belouizdad
- France kept on tenterhooks over new government
- Salah stars as rampant Liverpool hit Spurs for six
- Syria's new leader says all weapons to come under 'state control'
- 'Sonic 3' zips to top of N.America box office
- Rome's Trevi Fountain reopens to limited crowds
- Mbappe strikes as Real Madrid down Sevilla
- 'Nervous' Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- Pope again condemns 'cruelty' of Israeli strikes on Gaza
- Lonely this Christmas: Vendee skippers in low-key celebrations on high seas
- Troubled Man Utd humiliated by Bournemouth
- 2 US pilots shot down over Red Sea in 'friendly fire' incident: military
- Man Utd embarrassed by Bournemouth, Chelsea held at Everton
- France awaits fourth government of the year
SpaceX launches its latest crew to ISS for NASA
Days after a SpaceX Dragon capsule crewed by wealthy adventurers splashed down off Florida's coast, another launched Wednesday, this time for a NASA mission to the International Space Station.
The Crew-4 mission blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3:52 am (0752 GMT), carrying Americans Kjell Lindgren, Bob Hines and Jessica Watkins, as well as Italian Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency.
The event was livestreamed on NASA's website and social media.
The rapid turnaround time for SpaceX -- a little under 40 hours between recovering one crew and sending up another -- is a sign of an increasingly busy human spaceflight calendar since Elon Musk's company became NASA's mainstay astronaut taxi in 2020.
Between 2011 -- when the Space Shuttle program ended -- and 2020, NASA was reliant on Russian Soyuz rockets for the service.
"Think how the Cape has transformed, think about all of those abandoned launchpads on the Cape, and how they are roaring back to life," NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a press call Tuesday.
Crew-4 will join the Crew-3 quartet, who are approaching the end of their five-month rotation on the ISS, as well as three Russians on the Russian segment of the orbital outpost.
A date for Crew-3's return will be set soon.
Crew-4 is due to carry out hundreds of scientific experiments, including ongoing research into growing plants without soil in space.
Another involves developing an artificial human retina, leveraging the microgravity environment of the ISS to help deposit layer after layer of thin films of protein.
The technology "could eventually be used to replace damaged photoreceptor cells in the eyes and potentially restore meaningful vision to the millions of people who suffer from retinal degenerative disease," said NASA scientist Heidi Parris.
Among the crewmates, Watkins is only the fifth Black woman to go to space, and the first to join the crew of the ISS on an extended mission.
The crew should reach the space lab 17 hours after launch, with docking planned for 8:15 pm Wednesday (0015 GMT Thursday).
Ch.Kahalev--AMWN