Space Launch Complex 40 is located just south of Kennedy Space Center. Once the Crew-9 duo launched, the Falcon 9 rocket traveled on a northeast trajectory, carrying their SpaceX Dragon, named Freedom, on a path to meet up with the International Space Station.

After multiple delays, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission finally launched two astronauts into space on Saturday from Cape Canaveral.The mission took off at 1:17 p.m. on a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, carrying NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the International Space Station.

Crew-9 is NASA's next astronaut rotation aboard the International Space Station, and the 10th overall flight of NASA astronauts by SpaceX — including Demo-2 and Crews 1-9. SpaceX flies NASA astronaut crews to the space station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program.