WASHIGTON: Four astronauts – three from the US and one from Japan – have launched from Florida on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

The four individuals making their way up to the ISS are the Americans Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and the highly experienced Japanese space agency (Jaxa) astronaut Soichi Noguchi.

The crew is riding a rocket and capsule provided by the SpaceX company.

The US space agency Nasa has said it is now entering a new era in which routine astronaut journeys to low-Earth orbit are being conducted by commercial providers.

(With inputs from  Agencies)