NASA officials remain eager for Starliner to begin these regular crew rotation flights, even as its sole destination, the ISS, enters its sunset years. NASA and its international partners plan to decommission and scuttle the space station in 2030 and 2031, more than 30 years after the launch of the lab's first module.

UNC alumnus Zena Cardman will command SpaceX Crew-11 mission to the ISS, replacing a prior assignment due to issues with Boeing Starliner. The mission includes astronauts from NASA, JAXA, and Roscosmos,

"The SpaceX Dragon trunk burns up in Earth’s atmosphere while the capsule, with the Axiom Space Ax-4 crew aboard, speeds ahead safely toward splashdown. Filmed by our 4K cameras on the International Space Station," Sen captioned the video posted on X.

The next astronaut launch to the International Space Station (ISS) is just around the corner.

It was the fourth private astronaut mission funded by Houston-based Axiom Space and the second commanded by veteran astronaut Peggy Whitson.

See the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and the Milky Way galaxy in this time-lapse view from the International Space Station. Credit: NASA | edited by Space.com

A host of scientific investigations await the crew of NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 mission during their long-duration expedition aboard the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke,

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill graduate will be a commander for a SpaceX mission to the International Space Station.

The astronauts arrived at the station on June 26, about 28.5 hours after launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center atop SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket on June 25. Over the last two weeks, the crew conducted more than 60 experiments focused on microalgae, microbial growth and human health and have travelled over 10 million kilometres in space.

The Ax-4 team arrived at the ISS on June 26, welcomed aboard by the station's latest rotating crew of seven occupants - three U.S. astronauts, one Japanese crewmate and three Russian cosmonauts. The two crews parted company again early on Monday when Crew Dragon Grace undocked to begin its voyage home.