Crew with first astronaut from Turkey set for launch to space station

A fighter pilot poised to become Turkey's first person in orbit and three other astronauts representing Europe were set for launch on Thursday headed for the International Space Station in the latest commercially arranged mission from Texas startup Axiom Space.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying the Axiom quartet was due for liftoff atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 4.49 p.m. EST (2149 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, beginning a planned 36-hour voyage to the orbiting laboratory.

The mission marks the third such flight organized by Houston-based Axiom over the past two years as the company builds on its business of putting astronauts sponsored by foreign governments and private enterprise into Earth orbit.

The company charges its customers at least $55 million for each astronaut seat.

Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the...