SpaceX targets Sunday-night launch for space station mission

(l to r) Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Michael Hopkins and Soichi Noguchi smile during a news conference (Terry Renna/AP/PA)

SpaceX is aiming for a Sunday-night launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, although the prospects of good weather were just 50-50 and its leader was sidelined by Covid-19.

Vice President Mike Pence was expected at Nasa’s Kennedy Space Centre for the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations aboard privately owned and operated capsules.