NASAs @SpaceX Crew-12 mission assignments
The @Space_Station post announces NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission crew—Jessica Meir (U.S., commander, second flight), Jack Hathaway (U.S., pilot, first flight), Sophie Adenot (France, specialist, first flight), and Andrey Fedyaev (Russia, specialist, second flight)—set to launch no earlier than February 15, 2026, to support Expedition 74 on the ISS.
This international team from NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos will conduct over 200 experiments on human health, biotechnology, and technology demos, directly informing Artemis Moon missions and Mars exploration while advancing low-Earth orbit commercial activities.
Public reactions highlight excitement for the diverse crew's expertise in biology, aviation, and engineering, with over 1.3 million views underscoring growing global interest in collaborative space efforts amid rapid commercialization.
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Dragon and the Crew-11 astronauts dock with the Space Station
SpaceX's post echoes NASA's update on Crew-11 Dragon undocking from the ISS no earlier than January 14, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST, with splashdown targeted for early January 15 off California, pending weather.
The mission, launched August 1, 2025, involves NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA's Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos' Oleg Platonov, returning after about five months due to a stable medical issue with an unnamed crew member.
This earlier-than-planned departure underscores the flexibility of SpaceX's Crew Dragon in NASA's Commercial Crew Program, prioritizing astronaut health while maintaining ISS operations, as detailed in NASA's January 9 blog.
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The SpaceX Crew-11 mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on August 2, 2025, at approximately 2:27 a.m. EDT. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, autonomously docked to the space-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module, carrying four astronauts: NASA’s Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov. Hatches opened around 4:15 a.m. EDT, allowing the Crew-11 members to join the Expedition 73 crew for a handover period. The mission, launched on July 31, 2025, from Kennedy Space Center, is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and will see the astronauts conduct a roughly six-month stay aboard the ISS for scientific experiments and station operations.
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SPLASHDOWN Crew- 10
The NASA SpaceX Crew-10 mission concluded with a successful splashdown on August 9, 2025, at 11:33 a.m. EDT (8:33 a.m. PDT / 15:33 UTC) in the Pacific Ocean off San Diego, California. This marked the first Commercial Crew mission to land off the U.S. West Coast. The Crew Dragon spacecraft, Endurance, carried four astronauts—NASA’s Anne McClain (Commander) and Nichole Ayers (Pilot), JAXA’s Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos’ Kirill Peskov—who completed a 145-day mission (148 days including travel) on the ISS, conducting scientific research and maintenance.
The spacecraft undocked from the ISS on August 8 at 6:15 p.m. ET, delayed briefly due to high winds. After a deorbit burn, it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, deploying drogue and main parachutes for a nominal splashdown. SpaceX recovery teams secured the spacecraft, hoisted it onto a recovery ship, and conducted initial medical checks on the crew, who were then flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. A NASA-JAXA teleconference followed at 1 p.m. EDT on August 9. For footage, check NASA’s YouTube or SpaceX’s streams.
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UNDOCKING
The SpaceX Crew-10 mission undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on August 8, 2025, at 6:15 p.m. EDT (22:15 UTC). The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, carrying NASA astronauts Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, separated from the forward-facing port of the ISS's Harmony module. The undocking followed a hatch closure at 4:20 p.m. EDT and was delayed from earlier opportunities on August 6 and 7 due to high winds forecasted for the splashdown zones off the Southern California coast. The spacecraft began a 17.5-hour journey back to Earth, targeting a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 11:33 a.m. EDT (8:33 a.m. PDT) on August 9, 2025, marking the first NASA-sponsored Crew Dragon mission to land in the Pacific. The crew, who spent 148 days in orbit, conducted numerous scientific experiments and carried time-sensitive research samples back in the Polar cold storage facility.
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DOCKING
The SpaceX Crew-10 mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on March 16, 2025, at 12:04 a.m. EDT (0404 GMT). The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, autonomously connected to the forward-facing port of the ISS's Harmony module while orbiting approximately 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean. The mission carried four astronauts: NASA astronauts Anne McClain (commander) and Nichole Ayers (pilot), JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. After docking, the crew conducted leak checks and pressurization protocols, with the hatch opening by 1:45 a.m. EDT, followed by a welcoming ceremony. This docking marked the start of a crew swap, enabling the return of astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who had been stranded on the ISS since June 2024 due to issues with Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft.
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