SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 7:03 p.m. ET (2303 GMT) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida carrying four astronauts who will replace Wilmore and Williams, both of whom are veteran NASA astronauts and retired U.

Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams need SpaceX to get this relief team to the space station before they can check out.

After month of technical difficulties which has led to being stuck in space for nearly nine months, astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore are about to return home