SpaceX Crew Dragon lofting next batch of 'nauts to ISS today

The next International Space Station (ISS) crew is set to launch today, commanded by an astronaut who gave up her Crew-9 seat to make way for the Boeing Starliner test team.

The four-person line-up of the SpaceX Dragon, set to launch on July 31 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is commanded by Zena Cardman. Cardman, alongside Stephanie Wilson, was reassigned from Crew-9 to make way for the return of Boeing Starliner astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore.

NASA had decided to keep the Starliner astronauts on the ISS for an extended stay after determining that returning the pair in Boeing's Calamity Capsule was not worth the risk. There were several issues on the Crew Flight Test of the Starliner, most notably malfunctioning thrusters. After weighing the options, the US space agency opted to return the Starliner without a crew.

The need for seats to accommodate Williams ...