Watch Live! NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 Astronauts Launch to the International Space Station

Why It Matters

The flight underscores SpaceX’s routine crewed launch capability and booster reusability, sustaining commercial partnerships with NASA for ISS rotations and reducing launch costs and schedule risk for future crewed missions.

Summary

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 successfully launched the Crew-12 NASA astronauts aboard the Dragon spacecraft “Freedom,” achieving nominal ascent, stage separation, and booster return to Landing Zone 40. The first stage completed boost-back, entry and landing burns and touched down at Cape Canaveral, while the second stage performed as planned to insert Dragon into the expected orbit. After SECO and a brief coast, Dragon separated from the second stage and the four-person crew reported nominal systems and motion, beginning their transit to the International Space Station. Mission control confirmed all critical calls and vehicle performance were nominal throughout the flight.

Original Description

SpaceX's Crew-12 launch for NASA will fly a pair of veteran astronauts and a pair of rookies to the orbital lab for an extended stay. Launch will take place in the early morning hours of February 13th.

Crew-12 will be commanded by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, with mission pilot Jack Hathaway, and mission specialists Sophie Adenot from the European Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They'll join a sparse Expedition 74 crew of three currently occupying the ISS, left somewhat shorthanded after the early departure of Crew-11 astronauts, whose mission was cut short due to an undisclosed medical situation.