Four new astronauts arrive via SpaceX rocket at International Space Station | International Space Station

The International Space Station (ISS) returned to full power on Saturday, with four new astronauts arriving to replace colleagues who left early due to health concerns.

SpaceX delivered US, French and Russian astronauts a day after launching from Cape Canaveral.

Last month’s medical evacuation was NASA’s first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health condition, causing them to hastily return. That left only three crew members (one American and two Russians) to keep the space running, prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and curtail exploration.

NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot, and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev will move for eight to nine months. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have previously visited the ISS. During her first space station visit in 2019, Meir participated in the first all-female spacewalk.

Military helicopter pilot Adenot became the second French woman to visit space. Hathaway is a captain in the US Navy.

“Hello!” Adenot called out as the capsule docked with the space station 277 miles (446 km) above.

French president Emmanuel Macron offered support to Adenot social media post: “Achieving the extraordinary in space, as on Earth, is possible by combining our forces.”

A few hours later, the floodgates opened and seven space travelers hugged and exchanged enthusiastic high-fives. “Let’s get going,” Meir said.

NASA has refused to identify the astronaut who fell ill in orbit on Jan. 7 or say what happened, citing medical privacy. The sick astronaut and three others returned to Earth more than a month ahead of schedule. They spent their first night on Earth in a hospital before returning to Houston.

The space agency said it did not change its pre-flight medical checks to replace them.