🚀 A NASA crew blasted off to space early Wednesday morning with a history-maker aboard. Jessica Watkins is the first Black woman launched into space for an extended mission on the International Space Station. Watkins, 33, and three other astronauts rocketed into space from the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, at 3:52 a.m. EDT. The assignment meant she would be the first Black woman to join a space station crew for scientific research, station maintenance, training and more over a six-month period. Wednesday's flight sent NASA's Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren and the European Space Agency's Samantha Cristoforetti to orbit, and they're expected to dock at the space station by Wednesday evening if schedules hold. 🔗 Visit our link in bio to read more about the history-making spaceflight. 📸: Craig Bailey, @florida_today, USA TODAY NETWORK