KENNEWICK — NASA astronaut Kayla Barron of Richland is on the International Space Station.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Crew Dragon Endurance blasted off Wednesday.
“Enjoy your holiday among the stars. We will be waving as you fly by,” was the message a few minutes later from the ground crew.
The launch had been delayed multiple times since it was originally scheduled early Halloween morning, first by weather, then by a minor medical issue in a crew member and then to bring four of the astronauts ending their mission back to Earth first.
But when the launch finally happened it appeared to go off flawlessly.
Barron and the three other astronauts of the SpaceX Crew-3 arrived at the International Space Station Thursday afternoon.
There the crew met the American and two Russian astronauts already aboard.
Barron, a graduate of Richland High, is a mission specialist on the flight.
The SpaceX Crew-3 also includes NASA mission commander Raja Chari, NASA pilot Tom Marshburn and mission specialist Matthias Maurer of Germany with the European Space Agency.