NASA, SpaceX set for launch of Crew-12 to ISS

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SpaceX and NASA are set for the launch of the 12th operational crew rotation mission to the International Space Station under the Commercial Crew Program, Crew-12. Launching atop a Falcon 9 from Florida, Crew-12 will carry four new NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos crew members to the orbiting laboratory for an eight-month mission as part of Expedition 74/75.

Liftoff is scheduled for 5:15 AM EST (10:15 UTC) on Friday, Feb. 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Following stage separation, the first stage booster will return to the Cape and land at the brand new Landing Zone 40, a new landing zone located directly adjacent to the launch pad.

After separating from the Falcon 9 second stage, Crew Dragon Freedom and its four-person crew will orbit Earth for approximately 34 hours before ultimately docking to the International Space Station (ISS) at 3:15 PM EST (20:15 UTC) on Friday, Feb. 14.

Crew-12’s crew and mission

Crew-12 comprises an international four-person crew, featuring astronauts from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) and a cosmonaut from Russia’s Roscosmos.

The mission’s commander is NASA astronaut Jessica Meir. Born in Caribou, Maine, she attended Brown University for biology, ultimately earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology in 1999. She would later earn a Master of Science in space studies from the International Space University and a doctorate in marine biology from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2009. Her research focused on the diving physiology of marine mammals and birds, particularly the oxygen depletion in diving emperor penguins and elephant seals. After receiving her doctorate, she worked as an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital.

From 2000 to 2003, Meir served as an experiment support scientist for Lockheed Martin’s Human Research Facility at the Johnson Space Center. There, she supported human physiology research for Space Shuttle and ISS missions, and participated in the fourth underwater NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission.

In 2009, Meir was selected as a semi-finalist for NASA Astronaut Group 20, but was not selected as a finalist. Four years later, in 2013, she was selected as one of eight astronaut candidates for NASA Astronaut Group 21, nicknamed “The 8 Balls.” Meir completed her training in 2015. After participating in the ESA Cooperative Adventure for Valuing and Exercising human behaviour and performance Skills (CAVES) mission in 2016, Meir was assigned to Expedition 61/62 on the ISS, launching aboard Soyuz MS-15 in September 2019. She would spend 204 days on the orbiting laboratory, during which she participated in the first all-female spacewalk with fellow NASA astronaut and Artemis II mission specialist Christina Koch. Crew-12 will serve as Meir’s second flight to space.

The official Crew-12 mission portrait and patch. From left to right: Andrey Fedyaev, Jack Hathaway, Jessica Meir, and Sophie Adenot. (Credit: NASA)

Serving as Crew-12’s pilot is NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway. Born in South Windsor, Connecticut, he attended the U.S. Naval Academy and graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in physics and history. He subsequently joined the Navy and was assigned to Naval Air Station in Lemoore, California, after being designated a naval aviator in 2006. Hathaway would go on to support Operation Enduring Freedom and other Western Pacific military events as part of Strike Fighter Squadron 14.

Hathaway later earned two master’s degrees: one in flight dynamics from Cranfield University in 2014, and another in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. Meanwhile, he was designated a developmental test pilot and focused on the F/A-18 fighter jet. After graduating with his second master’s degree, he was deployed in support of Operation Inherent Resolve aboard the USS Truman. In 2019, he would be assigned to the J-6 department of the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon, where he focused on tactical datalink policy and acquisition efforts.

Hathaway was selected as an astronaut candidate in December 2021 as part of NASA Astronaut Group 23, nicknamed “The Flies.” At the time of his astronaut candidate selection, Hathaway was deployed aboard the USS Truman as a Prospective Executive Officer for Strike Fighter Squadron 81. In total, Hathaway has accumulated 2,500 flight hours in 30 different aircraft and completed 39 combat missions. Hathaway completed astronaut training in March 2024 and was later assigned to Crew-12, which will serve as his first flight to space.

Crew-12 will feature two mission specialists. The first is ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. Born in Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, France, Adenot attended the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace, where she studied flight dynamics and earned an engineering degree in 2004. Later that year, she earned a master’s degree in human factors engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research studied how the vestibular system adapts to artificial gravity, informing the design and development of centrifuges for astronaut training.

Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir and pilot Jack Hathaway during training. (Credit: SpaceX)

After working as an engineer at Airbus Helicopters, Adenot joined the French Air Force in 2005, where she piloted helicopters on search-and-rescue missions. She would later transfer to the High Authority Transport Squadron, where she transported French government figures and visiting foreign leaders. In 2018, Adenot graduated from the Empire Test Pilots’ School as a helicopter test pilot and worked at Cazaux Air Base until 2022.

Adenot was selected as an astronaut candidate in November 2022 as part of the 2022 ESA Astronaut Group, nicknamed “The Hoppers.” At the time of her selection, she had accumulated over 3,000 flight hours in 22 different helicopters. She completed her training in April 2024 and joined the European Astronaut Corps. Adenot was assigned to Crew-12 in 2024, and she will be the first member of her class to complete a long-duration ISS mission. Crew-12 will serve as Adenot’s first flight to space, and her ESA mission name is “εpsilon.”

The final crew member and second mission specialist on Crew-12 is Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Born in modern-day Serov, Russia, Fedyaev graduated from the Balashov Military Aviation School with an engineering degree in 2004, focusing on air transport and air traffic control. Fedyaev then joined the Russian Air Force, where he served in the 317th mixed aviation segment. After logging over 500 flight hours, Fedyaev retired from the Russian Air Force in 2013, following his selection as a cosmonaut.

Roscosmos selected Fedyaev as a cosmonaut in 2012, and he completed his training in June 2014. In July 2022, Fedyaev was assigned to Expedition 68/69, and launched to the ISS aboard Crew-6 on March 2, 2023, becoming the second Russian cosmonaut to fly on Crew Dragon. He spent nearly 186 days on the Station, and supported several Russian spacewalks in addition to conducting regular experiments. Crew-12 will serve as Fedyaev’s second flight to space.

The crew of Crew-12 pose for a photo while training for flight. (Credit: SpaceX)

Fedyaev was not initially assigned to Crew-12 or Expedition 74/75. Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, a veteran of three missions to the ISS, was originally scheduled to fly on Crew-12 as a mission specialist. However, in December 2025, Artemyev was suddenly removed from the crew and replaced with Fedyaev. Roscosmos stated the removal was due to a “transition to another job,” but later reports suggested Artemyev violated International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by photographing ITAR-protected information on SpaceX technologies, prompting his removal from the mission. With the crew swap occurring around three months before Crew-12’s scheduled launch, Fedyaev was selected as Artemyev’s replacement due to his past experience flying on Crew Dragon, reducing his training time.

Crew-12 also faced the possibility of an increased launch timeline due to the early return of Crew-11 on Jan. 15 due to an undisclosed medical issue. Following the announcement of Crew-11’s early departure, NASA announced they were “working with SpaceX, and its international partners, to review the options available to advance launch opportunities for the Crew-12 mission.” Ultimately, the mission’s original launch date of Feb. 15 was advanced by just three days to Feb. 12. The Feb. 12 launch date was moved to Feb. 13 due to poor launch weather along Crew-12’s ascent trajectory.

Once settled into life aboard the Station, the four crew members will begin conducting research, science experiments, and Station maintenance procedures. Some of the research and scientific experiments include studies of pneumonia-inducing bacteria, on-demand intravenous fluid generation, automated plant health monitoring, and interactions between plants and nitrogen-fixing microbes. The crew will also conduct investigations into human health, such as how physical characteristics can affect blood flow in microgravity. When not conducting research, the crew will perform maintenance on the 27-year-old ISS, sometimes through spacewalks.

What’s more, the crew will see the arrival and departure of several spacecraft. In July, the Soyuz MS-29 mission will dock with the ISS, bringing Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, along with NASA astronaut Anil Menon, to the orbiting laboratory. Soon after, the Soyuz MS-28 mission will depart and return to Earth with Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikayev and NASA astronaut Christopher Williams. The Soyuz MS-28 crew is currently onboard the ISS and will welcome Crew-12 aboard the orbiting laboratory following their docking. Several uncrewed cargo spacecraft will also launch to the Station during Crew-12’s stay, including a SpaceX Cargo Dragon, Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL, and Roscosmos Progress.

Crew-12’s vehicles and spacecraft

Under its Commercial Crew Program (CCP) contract, SpaceX supplies both the crewed spacecraft and launch vehicle for crewed missions to the ISS. Crew-12 will serve as the 14th human spaceflight mission under the CCP, the 12th operational ISS mission, and the 20th overall crewed mission for SpaceX and Crew Dragon.

The Crew-12 crew will ride into orbit aboard Crew Dragon C212 Freedom. Crew-12 will serve as Freedom‘s fifth flight to space and the ISS following a 503-day turnaround from its most recent mission, Crew-9, in September 2024. Freedom has previously supported the Crew-9, Axiom Mission 3, Axiom Mission 2, and Crew-4 missions — all of which flew to the ISS.

As is tradition with Dragon capsules, the first crew to fly in them names the capsule. Freedom was named by Crew-4, which flew to the ISS in April 2022. NASA astronaut and Crew-4 commander Kjell Lindgren explained that the crew chose the name to celebrate “a fundamental human right” and to honor Freedom 7, the first crewed spaceflight by the United States, which carried astronaut Alan Shepard to space in May 1961.

Crew Dragon Freedom arrives at SLC-40 for Crew-12. (Credit: SpaceX)

There are four other active Crew Dragon capsules: C206 Endeavour, C207 Resilience, C210 Endurance, and C213 Grace.

SpaceX’s partially reusable workhorse, the Falcon 9, will launch Crew-12 to the ISS. Falcon 9 currently flies in its Block 5 configuration and has completed 599 missions since its debut in June 2010. Crew-12 will mark Falcon 9’s 600th mission and 17th of 2026.

Falcon 9 is a two-stage medium-lift launch vehicle, standing 69.8 m tall and 3.7 m in diameter. The first stage booster, which is capable of landing on either a concrete landing pad or downrange droneship at sea, features nine Merlin engines that produce 7,600 kN of thrust at liftoff. To enable recovery, the first stage also features four landing legs and four titanium gridfins. The second stage utilizes a single, vacuum-optimized Merlin engine that produces 934 kN of thrust. Both Falcon 9 stages use highly-refined kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants.

Serving as the first stage booster for Crew-12 is B1101, the youngest active booster in the Falcon fleet. Crew-12 will mark B1101’s second flight after it previously supported the Starlink Group 6-88 mission in January. This mission will also mark the booster’s first attempt to land at a Landing Zone, as Starlink Group 6-88 used one of SpaceX’s droneships for recovery.

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman flies over SLC-40 and the brand new LZ-40 with Crew-12 on the pad. (Credit: NASA)

Crew-12 launch and docking timeline

Crew-12 is scheduled to launch on Friday, Feb. 13, at 5:15 AM EST (10:15 UTC) from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission will mark the second crewed mission to fly from SLC-40 after Crew-9 flew from the pad in September 2024. All other Crew Dragon missions have flown from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy Space Center. With the removal of the crew access arm at LC-39A, SpaceX intends to launch all future crewed missions from SLC-40.

Falcon 9 and Freedom rolled out to SLC-40 on Feb. 8 and completed a static fire test that evening. The Crew-12 crew arrived in Florida for launch on Feb. 6, and entered quarantine soon after. NASA and SpaceX teams successfully completed a dry dress rehearsal of all launch-day activities on Feb. 9, with the crew practicing suiting up and boarding Freedom , and launch teams working through the launch countdown.

On launch day, the countdown will begin several miles from SLC-40 at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (O&C). There, the crew will suit up and walk out to the media, after which they will be transported to SLC-40 via a convoy of Teslas. Once at the pad, the crew and their supporting closeout crew members will scale the launch tower and walk across the crew access arm to access Freedom‘s hatch.

The crew will then enter Freedom one by one, with crew ingress expected to be completed by T-2:35:00 hours. Hatch closure will come 40 minutes later at T-1:55:00 hours, with leak checks following soon after. Once the hatch is confirmed to be closed safely, the closeout crew will prepare the white room for launch and depart the pad.

Crew-12 sit in their seating positions within Dragon. (Credit: SpaceX)

NASA and SpaceX teams will then monitor the crew, Freedom, and Falcon 9 for the next hour until the SpaceX Launch Director verifies that Falcon 9 is “go” for propellant loading at T-45:00 minutes. After the “go” for propellant load is given, SLC-40’s crew access arm will be retracted at T-42:00 minutes, and Freedom‘s launch escape system will be armed at T-39:00 minutes.

With the launch escape system armed, if an emergency that prevented crew egress were to occur, Freedom’s launch escape system would be activated, safely flying the crew away from the pad. Freedom is pre-loaded with highly storable hypergolic propellants for its launch escape system motors, and thus requires no fueling during launch.

Falcon 9 loads propellants late in its launch countdown due to SpaceX’s use of super-chilled cryogenic propellants. Teams fuel the rocket later in the countdown to ensure these cryogenic propellants don’t boil away during prelaunch activities.

At T-35:00 minutes, RP-1 begins flowing into Falcon 9’s first and second stages. LOX also begins loading onto Falcon 9’s first stage at T-35:00 minutes. At T-16:00 minutes, LOX loading begins on the second stage.

Crew Dragon Freedom and Falcon 9 stand atop SLC-40 for the launch of Crew-12. (Credit: SpaceX)

While RP-1 and LOX are loaded onto Falcon 9, first stage engine chill will occur at T-07:00 minutes. During engine chill, small amounts of cryogenic propellants flow through the first-stage engines, ensuring the nine first stage engines aren’t subjected to intense thermal shock during ignition. After engine chill, Freedom will transition to internal power at T-05:00 minutes.

Falcon 9 will be fully loaded with RP-1 and LOX propellants at T-02:00 minutes, after which it will begin transitioning to internal power. At T-01:00 minute, the flight computer is commanded to begin final prelaunch checks, and the propellant tanks are pressurized to flight pressures. At T-00:45 seconds, the SpaceX Launch Director will verify that Crew-12 is go for launch, assuming no vehicle, crew, weather, or range issues.

At T-00:03 seconds, the nine first stage Merlin engines will ignite, and, at T0, Falcon 9 and Crew-12 will lift off from SLC-40, beginning their journey to orbit.

At T+01:12 minute, Falcon 9 and Freedom will experience maximum aerodynamic pressure (Max Q), the moment at which aerodynamic and structural loads are at their greatest during ascent. Once the first stage has depleted most of its propellants, it will shutdown its nine engines at T+02:24 minutes — an event called main engine cutoff (MECO) — and separate from the second stage three seconds later at T+02:27 minutes.

Crew Dragon Freedom at SLC-40. (Credit: SpaceX)

The second stage engine will ignite at T+02:35 minutes. As the second stage propels Freedom and Crew-12 to orbit, B1101 will begin its return to Earth. Seconds after stage separation, B1101 will perform a near 180-degree flip to orient itself for its boostback burn and ignite its engines at T+02:41 minutes. The boostback burn will last until T+03:27 minutes.

Following the boostback burn, B1101 will coast and orient itself engine-first for reentry and landing. At T+06:20 minutes, the booster will ignite its engines for 13 seconds for the entry burn, lowering its descent velocity to ensure a safe landing. Finally, at T+07:17 minutes, B1101 will ignite its engines a final time for the landing burn and touchdown at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) at T+07:42 minutes. B1101’s landing will mark the first landing at LZ-40, which is located within the SLC-40 grounds to enable faster recovery operations when boosters perform return-to-launch-site landings.

Meanwhile, the second stage will continue flying to orbit, ultimately culminating in second stage engine cutoff (SECO) at T+08:47 minutes. After checking orbital insertion and vehicle health, Freedom will separate from the second stage at T+09:37 minutes, beginning its journey to rendezvous and dock with the ISS. Freedom‘s nosecone will be opened at T+10:25 minutes.

Immediately following separation, Freedom will perform initial orbit activation and perform checkouts of critical vehicle systems. Over the next 34 hours, Dragon will conduct several phasing burns to raise its orbit and “catch up” to the ISS.

Crew Dragon Freedom approaches the ISS for docking during the Crew-9 mission. (Credit: NASA)

On Friday, as it approaches the ISS’s keep-out sphere, Freedom will establish communication with the orbiting laboratory and perform one final phasing burn. The capsule will then maneuver around the ISS until it arrives at its docking axis, after which Crew Dragon’s autonomous docking approach navigation will be activated. Freedom then performs its final approach to the Station, ultimately docking with the Harmony module’s zenith docking port at 3:15 PM EST (20:15 UTC) on Friday, Feb. 14.

Following docking, the ISS and Crew-12 crews will pressurize the docking vestibule and open the hatch, allowing Crew-12 to ingress into the ISS and begin their eight-month mission.

(Lead image: Falcon 9 and Freedom atop SLC-40 ahead of Crew-12. Credit: Tyler Gray for NSF)

The post NASA, SpaceX set for launch of Crew-12 to ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.



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