SpaceX launches new crew to the International Space Station

• This launch is the company's eighth crewed mission to orbit and the sixth to the ISS under a NASA contract.

Driving the news: SpaceX's Crew Dragon is carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Mann and Josh Cassada, Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Anna Kikina to the ISS.

• The crewmembers are expected to dock to the station on Thursday at 4:57 pm ET. You can watch continuous live coverage of their trip through space via NASA TV.

The big picture: SpaceX may not be the only option for NASA to launch its crews for long.

• The space agency also holds a contract with Boeing to eventually launch crews using its Starliner capsule.
• That spacecraft's first crewed launch is expected to occur in February 2023.