By Steve Nesius, Joey Roulette and Steve Gorman CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -NASA retiree turned private astronaut Peggy Whitson was launched on the fifth flight to orbit of her career early on Wednesday,

Live updates from the launch of the Ax-4 mission. The long delayed Axiom Space Mission 4 crew lifted off at 2:31 a.m. on June 25.

India, Poland and Hungary launched their first astronauts in more than 40 years Wednesday, sending them on a private flight to the International Space Station. The three countries shared the tab for the two-week mission.