Lucky 13 has proved to be a winning number for Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk.

Despite unsettled weather on Thursday morning, the skies opened in time for Colonel Kutyrk and his crewmates to make their 11:10 a.m. ET launch to the International Space Station.

At the appointed time, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up pad 40 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and then ascended rapidly into cloudy skies. About eight minutes later, the rocket’s reusable booster reappeared over the launch area to make its planned descent.

The crew is now on its way to a planned docking on the ISS at about 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.

Col. Kutryk is making his first trip to orbit. Once he arrives at the station, he is set to become the fourth Canadian astronaut to undertake a long-duration mission on the orbiting laboratory, which is expected to last about six months.