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.

SpaceX’s Falcon rocket blasted off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center two weeks late because of space station leak concerns.

According to SpaceX, the crew will conduct more than 60 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations, focusing on human research, Earth observation, biological studies, and material sciences during their mission aboard the ISS.

The three countries shared the tab for the two-week mission.

Axiom Space, the Houston company that arranged the deal, put the ticket price at more than $65 million per customer.

The crew is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Thursday, NASA said in a statement on X.

The mission, initially delayed due to technical issues and unfavourable weather conditions, marks a milestone for India as Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will become the first Indian to visit the ISS.

“Group Captain Shukla is on the way to become the first Indian to go to the International Space Station,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, welcoming the launch.

Peggy Whitson, former NASA astronaut and current director of human spaceflight at Axiom Space, is commanding the mission.

The two mission specialists are European Space Agency project astronaut Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski of Poland and Tibor Kapu of Hungary.