Crew 12 Prepares for Launch to International Space Station

As the countdown continues, anticipation builds for the upcoming flight to the International Space Station. Two Americans, one French astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut are set to launch on Wednesday, eager to fill the positions of the previous crew who returned to Earth early due to health reasons.

Jessica Meir, who leads Crew 12, along with Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, have a scheduled departure from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. They will be aboard a Falcon 9 rocket set to take off at 6:01 a.m. EST. With successful execution, they will dock with the space station by 10:30 a.m. the next day.

A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready for the mission at the launch pad in Cape Canaveral, marking SpaceX’s endeavor to send the team on their expedition. The current mission faced delays as NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon was postponed due to technical issues, hence allowing the Falcon 9 launch to proceed earlier than expected.

“We arrived a couple of days ago, and this is really starting to feel like we’re about to launch,” stated commander Jessica Meir during a virtual news session from their pre-flight quarantine at the Kennedy Space Center.

Amid final preparations, Jessica Meir shared a heartfelt moment on social media where she and her young daughter played with a toy rocket on the sunny Florida beach. Her post conveyed how valuable the family time was before embarking on the mission.

With the early return of Crew 11 due to medical concerns, the station’s population shrunk to just three: commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev, and NASA astronaut Chris Williams. The arrival of Crew 12 will restore the crew count to seven, thereby facilitating regular operations and the capacity for spacewalks.

At a virtual press conference, members of Crew 12—cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, and French astronaut Sophie Adenot—addressed reporters’ questions while maintaining quarantine protocols. The team prepares to step into their roles without the typical in-person crew changeover, though Meir expresses confidence in their capabilities and readiness.

Meir and Fedyaev, both seasoned from previous long-duration missions, are accompanied by Hathaway and Adenot, both embarking on their debut flights into space.

Chris Williams has been managing the station since Thanksgiving, effectively maintaining operations until the arrival of the new contingent. Both informal discussions and briefings with returning Crew 11 members have helped Meir and her colleagues adapt to any changes within the station since their last missions.