Three-man, one-woman crew flies to Florida to prep for Friday launch to space station

Three NASA astronauts and their Russian cosmonaut crewmate flew to the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday to prepare for launch atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Friday, kicking off a planned six-month tour of duty aboard the International Space Station.

Flying in from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Crew 8 commander Matthew Dominick, co-pilot Michael Barratt, Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin landed at the Florida spaceport's 3-mile-long runway at 1:45 p.m. EST. Barratt is a veteran of two previous space flights while his three crewmates are rookies.

"Wow, it's great to be at the Cape!" Dominick said from the runway. "I'm a kid in the candy store. ... It's an incredible time to be involved in spaceflight."