Crew-10 mission commander and NASA astronaut Anne McClain gestures before heading to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launches from the Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida

The mission is crewed by NASA astronauts commander Anne McClain, and pilot Nichole Ayers, alongside mission specialists, JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov

Crew 10 consists of NASA pilot Nichole Ayers, Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, JAXA astronaut Takuya Onish, and NASA commander Anne McClain

After more than nine months on the International Space Station, two astronauts are a step closer to returning home following the launch of a crew swap mission on March 14

Falcon 9 rocket with a Crew Dragon fixed to its top blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 7:03 pm (2303 GMT), carrying a four-member team bound for the orbital outpost

As per NASA, It will take about 28.5 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock to the space station at 11:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, March 15, while traveling 17,000 mph orbiting the Earth