The launch is scheduled for this morning at 07:45 Dutch time. The rocket with the four astronauts must then take off from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
The astronauts are scheduled to arrive at their destination at 08:38 tomorrow morning, about 400 kilometers above the Earth.
Crew members
One of the crew members is Sultan al-Neyadi (41) from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). That country wants to profile itself with space travel.
In 2019, another astronaut from the UAE went to the ISS for about a week. Since last year, a satellite from the country has been orbiting Mars, and later this year an unmanned cart should arrive on the moon.
Another crew member is 37-year-old American Warren Hoburg. He is being trained to go to the moon in a few years. He is one of the astronauts in the so-called Artemis program.
The other two who will go to the ISS on Monday are American Stephen Bowen (59) and Russian Andrej Fedjaev (42).
Current residents
There are now three residents from the United States, three from Russia and one Japanese on the ISS. Four of them must return to Earth next month. Replacement transport arrived for the other three on Sunday, a new vessel with which they can return in September.
The spaceship with which they were supposed to leave has been destroyed by the impact of space debris. That craft will go to Earth next month without people on board.
