A multi-national crew of four is on its way to the International Space Station for a six-month mission aboard the orbiting lab. They took off on Thursday to replace the 12-astronaut crew that's been there since February.

Four astronauts blasted off Thursday on a space station mission that will stretch until spring, among them a Canadian whose wife will give birth while he’s away.

In a local twist, NASA astronaut Luke Delaney is piloting the crew's SpaceX Dragon spacecraft — and launch watch parties are scheduled this morning at Deltona High in Volusia County and the University...