Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after being sidelined by Boeing's Starliner trouble and other issues. SpaceX launched the U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew from Florida on Friday. They should reach the space station this weekend, replacing colleagues who launched in March as fill-ins for NASA's two stuck astronauts. Leading the taxi flight for NASA is Zena Cardman. She was yanked from a SpaceX flight last year to make room for Starliner's test pilots whose capsule was judged too dangerous to fly. Two of her crewmates were also training on Starliner, which remains grounded until next year.

A SpaceX rocket being tested in Texas has exploded, sending a dramatic fireball high into the sky. The company says the Starship "experienced a major anomaly" at about 11 p.m. Wednesday while on the test stand at Starbase, SpaceX's launch site at the southern tip of Texas. The company says in a statement on X that "all personnel are safe and accounted for." SpaceX says there are no hazards to nearby communities. It has asked people not to try to approach the site. It marked the latest in a string of incidents this year involving the massive rockets.

Elon Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. The threat came as President Donald Trump and Musk argued on social media on Thursday. Trump said he could cut government contracts given to Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. Musk responded by saying SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft. It was unclear how serious he was, but he later posted he wouldn't withdraw the capsule. SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules.

On an episode of "The Story Behind the AP Story," Associated Press space writer Marcia Dunn discusses the space odyssey of NASA's two stuck astronauts. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally on their way home after more than nine months in space. Wilmore and Williams left the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule early Tuesday, checking out with two others. The capsule is due to splash down in the evening off the Florida coast, weather permitting. The astronauts will then be taken to Houston. The astronauts' return will close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule last June.

Four astronauts are back on Earth after a space station mission that lasted almost eight months. A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast before dawn Friday. The three Americans and one Russian should have returned from the International Space Station two months ago, but were delayed by Boeing's Starliner crew capsule and weather. Shortly after splashdown, NASA said one of its astronauts had a medical issue. The space agency says the unidentified astronaut is in stable condition and remains at a Florida hospital as a "precautionary measure."

SpaceX's mega Starship rocket has completed its first full test flight, returning to Earth without exploding after blasting off from Texas. The previous three test flights ended with the rocket and spacecraft blowing up. This time, both managed to splash down in a controlled fashion. The 400-foot rocket was empty as it soared above the Gulf of Mexico and headed east Thursday. The booster dropped successfully into the gulf. An hour later, live views showed parts of the spacecraft breaking away during the intense heat of reentry, but it remained intact.

Boeing has launched astronauts for the first time after years of delays. Two NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday. They're headed to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay. It was their third launch attempt, coming after a pair of rocket-related delays. Starliner's first test flight without a crew in 2019 failed to reach the space station, so Boeing had to repeat it. Then the company had to fix a slew of capsule problems. SpaceX has been launching astronauts since 2020, but NASA wants a backup taxi service.