SpaceX and NASA launched a new crew of astronauts to the International Space Station Wednesday from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted the Dragon Endurance spacecraft into orbit at 11 a.m. Central Daylight Time. On board was an international crew including NASA astronauts Nicole Mann as mission commander, and Josh Cassada, pilot. JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina, also aboard the Dragon, will serve as mission specialists for their science expedition in microgravity aboard the space station.

Dragon will dock autonomously with the station around 3:57 p.m. Central Time Thursday. NASA will provide live coverage on its website.

The crew will spend several months aboard the station doing scientific research into cardiovascular health, bioprinting and fluid behavior in space.

That research will be managed by the NASA team at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. The operations center is NASA’s prime center for payload operations aboard the station.

“Missions like Crew-5 are proof we are living through a golden era of commercial space exploration. It’s a new era powered by the spirit of partnership, fueled by scientific ingenuity, and inspired by the quest for new discoveries,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “During their stay aboard the International Space Station, Crew-5 will conduct more than 200 science experiments and technology demonstrations, including studies on printing human organs in space and better understanding heart disease. While our eyes are focused upward on the heavens, let us never forget these missions will also better life here on Earth.”