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Timesnow    •    4 min read

SpaceX Launches Four Astronauts for Valentine’s Day Docking With ISS - Who Are They

WHAT'S THE STORY?

NASA and SpaceX marked another milestone in commercial human spaceflight on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the smooth launch of the Crew-12 mission. A Falcon

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9 rocket lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying four astronauts aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft Resilience on their journey to the International Space Station. The mission is aimed at reinforcing the space station’s reduced crew after Crew-11 returned to Earth early in January because of an undisclosed medical issue. Liftoff of Crew-12!


NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway are serving as commander and pilot, respectively, on the Crew-12 mission. They are joined by European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who will act as mission specialists.

The Crew-12 team is set to join the Expedition 74 astronauts already aboard the International Space Station.

The four astronauts, drawn from three space agencies, are set to spend about eight months, around 240 days, in orbit, where they will carry out more than 300 microgravity experiments.

Their longer-than-planned mission, extended beyond the usual six-month rotation, is designed to support operations aboard the International Space Station following Crew-11’s medically prompted return to Earth on January 15, ensuring uninterrupted research and a continuous human presence on the station.

The launch was cleared after a February 12 Launch Readiness Review, with mission managers proceeding once weather-related delays from earlier target dates, including February 11, were resolved.

The Falcon 9 first-stage booster made a precise landing at Landing Zone 1 about seven minutes after liftoff, completing its 15th flight and further demonstrating SpaceX’s reusable rocket capabilities.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to autonomously dock with the International Space Station’s Harmony module on Saturday, February 14, following a roughly 24-hour free flight in orbit.

Once aboard the International Space Station alongside the Expedition 74 crew, the Crew-12 astronauts will carry out research in biotechnology, fluid physics and materials science aimed at supporting future deep-space missions. Their work will contribute to preparations for the Artemis program and eventual journeys to Mars.

Among the planned experiments are efforts to grow protein crystals that could aid the development of cancer drugs, tests of radiation shielding for long-duration space travel, and Earth-observation studies to help monitor climate and environmental changes.

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