Long-delayed Spacex flight finally blasts off

Weather, illness caused multiple stops and starts

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A Spacex rocket carried four astronauts toward orbit Wednesday night, including the 600th person to reach space in 60 years.

The repeatedly delayed flight occurred just two days after Spacex brought four other astronauts home from the International Space Station. They should have been up there to welcome the newcomers, but NASA and Spacex decided to switch the order based on Monday’s ideal recovery weather in the Gulf of Mexico.

Germany’s Matthias Maurer claimed the No. 600 position, according to NASA, based on his mission assignment. He and his three NASA crewmates should arrive at the space station in under 24 hours, well over a week late.

One of the astronauts — NASA isn’t saying which one — was sidelined last week by an undisclosed medical issue. The crew member is fully recovered, according to NASA.

Bad weather also contributed to their flight delays. Wednesday’s night it was drizzling when the four astronauts said goodbye to their families, with umbrellas held over them. Forecasters promised the weather would improve and it did.

The list of 600 travelers ranges from those who have barely scratched space — like actor William Shatner last month — to U.S. and Russian astronauts who have spent a year or more in orbit. This year’s surge in space tourists helped push the tally over the 600 mark.

That averages out to 10 people per year since Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering flight in 1961, Maurer noted.

“But I think in a very few years, we will see an exponential rise of that one because now we’re entering the era of commercial spaceflight,” he said after arriving at NASA’S Kennedy Space Center two weeks ago.

The crew launch marked Spacex’s fourth for NASA in 18 months and the company’s fifth passenger flight overall.