NASA and SpaceX moved the Crew‑12 launch forward to Feb. 11 after a medical evacuation from Crew‑11 left the ISS with just three crew members. The crew — Jessica Meir (commander), Jack Hathaway (pilot), Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev — will fly on a Falcon 9 and the Crew Dragon capsule Freedom and are expected to stay about nine months. SpaceX briefly grounded Falcon 9s to investigate an upper‑stage issue; any impact on the launch date is still under review.
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Launches Crew‑12 Early to Reinforce ISS After Medical Evacuation
The SpaceX Dragon crew capsule "Freedom" moves to the hangar at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. . | Credit: SpaceX via X
A recent medical evacuation of a Crew‑11 astronaut from the International Space Station prompted NASA and SpaceX to accelerate the Crew‑12 launch so the team can quickly restore staffing and operations aboard the orbiting laboratory.
Crew‑12 includes NASA astronaut Jessica Meir as commander and Jack Hathaway as pilot, with mission specialist Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The four will fly on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket aboard the Crew Dragon capsule Freedom for an extended stay on station of roughly nine months, compared with the typical six‑month expedition.
The Crew Dragon is a reusable, human‑rated spacecraft developed with funding from NASA's Commercial Crew Program to ferry astronauts to and from low Earth orbit. The capsule carries crew‑first systems such as life‑support and environmental controls, modern touchscreen displays, and an integrated launch‑abort capability. It is designed to fly autonomously while allowing crew monitoring and manual control, docks directly with the ISS, and returns to Earth via parachute‑assisted splashdown for recovery.
The Crew Dragon capsule "Freedom" is moved toward a hangar. | Credit: SpaceX via X
The accompanying photograph was taken at Pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
Schedule Changes and Technical Review
NASA and SpaceX moved Crew‑12 forward from Feb. 15 to Feb. 11 to more quickly relieve a skeleton crew of three astronauts remaining on the ISS following the medical evacuation. That accelerated timeline aims to restore full station operations — from routine maintenance to cargo handling and scientific research — that are constrained when staffing is reduced.
Separately, SpaceX briefly grounded Falcon 9 launches after detecting an issue with an upper‑stage component. The company initiated an investigation to identify the root cause and implement any necessary fixes. At the time of writing, it was not confirmed whether that review will change Crew‑12’s revised launch date; NASA and SpaceX continue to evaluate range availability, vehicle readiness, and mission safety.
Why This Matters
With only three crew members currently aboard the ISS, many operations are limited. The timely arrival of Crew‑12 is intended to return the station to its normal complement of seven people so experiments, maintenance and vehicle traffic can resume at planned levels.
Status: Crew‑12 prepared to fly on Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Freedom; launch date remains subject to final safety reviews related to the upper‑stage inquiry.
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