Video: SpaceX test-fires Falcon 9 rocket at pad 40 (members only)

Veteran Russian commander Oleg Novitskiy, rookie flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov, and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei launched into orbit Friday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 3:42 a.m. EDT (0742 GMT). The crew members rode a Soyuz capsule in pursuit of the International Space Station, where docking occurred at 7:05 a.m. EDT (1105 GMT).

SpaceX launched of a Falcon 9 rocket at 6:01 a.m. EDT (1001 GMT) Sunday with the company’s next 60 Starlink internet satellites. The Falcon 9’s reusable first stage, making its ninth flight to space, successfully landed on a drone ship positioned offshore in the Atlantic Ocean.

Three veteran space fliers rode a Soyuz rocket into orbit Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading to the International Space Station for a five-month stay.