Photos: More Launch shots of Delta 375 rocket

Russia launched an unpiloted Progress cargo freighter Sunday from Kazakhstan, on course to deliver 2.7 tons of food, fuel, water, and supplies to the International Space Station before hauling away a no-longer-needed section of the outpost later this year to clear the way for a new laboratory module.

After completing a dress rehearsal for launch day over the weekend, the four astronauts gearing up for liftoff Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket are in good spirits and spending time with their families in Florida before leaving the planet for a six-month expedition on the International Space Station. Forecasters with the U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predict an 80% chance of acceptable weather for launch early Thursday.

A Japanese H-2A rocket launched Tuesday with a clandestine government-owned satellite to collect sharp-eyed views of North Korea’s missile developments and other global hotspots.