CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — SpaceX aimed for a Sunday night launch of four astronauts to the International Space Station, although the prospects of good weather were just 50-50 and its leader was sidelined by COVID-19.

Vice President Mike Pence was expected at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations aboard privately owned and operated capsules. It also marked only the second time in nearly a decade that astronauts were set to rocket into orbit from the U.S.

"Game day!" tweeted NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, the crew commander.

As nearby towns braced for a...