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\n NASA astronaut Nick Hague, left, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov are pictured as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building on their way to Launch Complex 40 for a mission to the International Space Station on Saturday in Cape Canaveral, Fla.
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John Raoux\/AP<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n John Raoux\/AP<\/p>\n <\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Two astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after a successful SpaceX launch on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Crew-9 mission, helmed by astronauts NASA\u2019s Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov of Russia\u2019s space agency, launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida at 1:17 p.m.\u00a0ET.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time since SpaceX\u2019s first crewed mission in 2020 that it will carry two astronauts to orbit instead of four. They’re saving room to bring home two NASA astronauts stuck at the ISS. <\/p>\n The stranded pair, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, flew to the ISS aboard Boeing\u2019s Starliner capsule on June 5 on what was supposed to be an eight-day test mission. But the two have remained there due to concerns about the safety of Boeing’s capsule. NASA made the \u201ctough decision\u201d to return Starliner to Earth without the crew earlier this month.<\/p>\n