NASA said Friday it is targeting no earlier than April 22 for another launch of a SpaceX ship that will this time carry Japan's Akihiko Hoshide and three other astronauts to the International Space Station.

It will be the third manned flight to the ISS by a Crew Dragon capsule, developed by U.S. company Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The previous flight, known as the Crew-1 mission, took place in November, carrying three NASA astronauts and Japan's Soichi Noguchi.

Soichi Noguchi (L) and his colleague are shown on a spacewalk, conducting work outside of the International Space Station on March 5, 2021. (Photo courtesy of NASA)(Kyodo)

The upcoming Crew-2 mission, which will lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, will be joined by Hoshide, 52, two NASA astronauts and an astronaut from the European Space Agency, according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

NASA had earlier said that the launch would be no earlier than April 20.