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SpaceX launches 4 astronauts for NASA after private flight

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., April 27, 2022. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
MARCIA DUNN - AP Aerospace Writer
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- SpaceX has launched four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA, less than two days after completing a flight chartered by millionaires.
The Falcon rocket blasted off before dawn Wednesday from Florida's Kennedy Space Center.
The crew includes the first Black woman making a long-term spaceflight, NASA's Jessica Watkins.
Also on board: the European Space Agency's lone female astronaut, Samantha Cristoforetti of Italy.
It's the first time NASA has sent up a crew comprised equally of men and women.
They should reach the space station Wednesday night.