NASA and SpaceX launched a four-astronaut relief crew to the International Space Station early Friday, Feb. 13, to return the lab to a full seven-person population. Liftoff occurred on time at 5:15 a.m. EST (1115 GMT). The Crew-12 astronauts will now dock at the ISS on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT). Live coverage begins at 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT).
Launch Replay! | Meet Crew-12 astronauts | SpaceX | Dragon | Falcon 9
SpaceX, NASA are 'go' for Crew-12 launch Friday
The Crew-12 astronaut team is commanded by astronaut Jessica Meir, with Jack Hathaway serving as pilot. Both are NASA astronauts. Rounding out the crew are European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot of France and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedaev. They will fly an 8-month mission to the ISS.
Crew-12 is a replacement crew for Crew-11, a team of four astronauts who returned to Earth earier than planned last month in what was the first-ever medical evacuation of the space station. Meir and her Crew-12 crewmates were originally scheduled to launch sometime in March, but NASA and SpaceX moved the flight up after the early return of Crew-11.
Space.com's Josh Dinner is on the scene for the relief crew's launch and will br providing updates over the next day that I'll share directly with you here.
You'll also be able to watch the launch live on this page early Friday, courtesy of NASA TV, with our livestream beginning at 3:15 a.m. EST (0815 GMT).
How to watch SpaceX's Crew-12 launch early Friday
If you're hoping to watch SpaceX's Crew-12 astronaut launch to the International Space Station, you're in luck. You'll have a wide variety of ways to tune in, including by watching the launch live in the video feed at the top of this page.
Our Spaceflight Editor Mike Wall has the full guide here:
Watch SpaceX launch Crew-12 astronaut mission to the International Space Station early on Feb. 13
NASA's Crew-12 launch webcast will begin at 3:15 a.m. EST (0815 GMT) on Friday, Feb. 13, with the launch itself scheduled for 5:15 a.m. EST (1015 GMT).
While you can watch it on Space.com and via our YouTube channel, you can also watch it directly from NASA, which will stream the launch live on NASA+, YouTube and Amazon Prime, as well as its social media channels.
The launch should cover SpaceX's actual Falcon 9 rocket liftoff, its' first stage booster landing and the Dragon capsule separation from its Falcon 9 upper stage.
NASA will provide a different webcast on Saturday, Feb. 14, for docking at the International Space Station as needed.
This will be our last update of today, Thursday. We'll see you early Friday for the launch!
Crew-12 astronauts arrive at the launch pad
Crew-12 launch webcast has begun
Crew-12 Falcon 9 rocket first stage fueled for launch
SpaceX reports that the first stage of the Crew-12 Falcon 9 rocket has been fueled with its RP-1 rocket-grade kerosene fuel for today's launch.
Fueling is continuing in what SpaceX calls a "late load" approach to fuel the rocket in the final minutes before a planned liftoff. Stage 2 liquid oxygen loading is now underway
The Dragon Freedom capsule is one of five crewed Dragon capsules SpaceX uses for trips to and from the International Space Station.
"We're tracking no holds against launch today," flight controllers radioed to Dragon astronauts.
"Dragon copies, great news," Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir said.
Crew-12 astronauts share inspiring message, strongback retracted
With just minutes remaining to liftoff, the four astronauts inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon Freedom shared a brief, but inspiring message of unity and exploration from inside the capsule.
"In a few moments, we will leave the ground,but not the people who helped get us here," Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir said. "This mission is a result of years of dedication, preparation, and trust to the teams, and also, every decision has led to this moment."
Her crewmates each spoke as well on the value of international cooperation to continue work on the ISS.
Stage one fueling is complete with RP-1 and liquid oxygen. Stage 2 has completed topping off its liquid oxygen.
The strongback support has retracted for launch. We are minutes from liftoff.
LIFTOFF! SpaceX launches Crew-12 astronauts
With a blinding light, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket lifted off on time from Space Launch Complex 40 to carry the four Crew-12 astronauts toward the International Space Station.
Stage separation for Crew-12 Falcon 9 rocket
SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket has successfully separated its first stage from the upper stage for today's Crew-12 launch. The first stage is returning to Earth for a planned landing at a new landing pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida about 8 minutes after liftoff.
So far, the flight is going smoothly.
"Dragon, SpaceX, nominal trajectory," flight controllers told the astronauts.
"Dragon copies," commander Jessica Meir said.
Touchdown! Crew-12 Falcon 9 rocket lands, Dragon in orbit
A few things just happened in quick succession.
First, SpaceX's Falcon 9 1st stage landed at Landing Pad 40 in a smooth touchdown at the company's newest landing pad.
The upper stage then reached its target point and deployed the Dragon capsule carrying the four Crew-12 astronauts to their planned orbit. The Dragon capsule then floated free to begin a 2-day trip to the International Space Station.
"It turns out Friday the 13th is a very lucky day," flight controllers radioed the Dragon crew as they wished them well.
"Thank you team, that was quite a ride, we have left the Earth, but the earth has not left us," Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir said.
Crew-12 Dragon nose cone opened for flight
The Crew-12 astronauts are now flying free on their way to the International Space Station, a journey that will take about 34 hours.
As they did just before launch, the four astronauts shared a message of inspiration and hope after reaching orbit.
"We're reminded that we're all connected," one of the four astronauts said. "Take care of one another and keep reaching higher. That's how human beings soar and how we make each other proud."
The nose cone covering the Dragon capsule's docking port has opened for flight.
Crew-12 astronauts unveil adorable crocheted zero-g indicator
The Crew-12 astronauts have unveiled their zero-gravity indicator and it is truly a one-of-a-kind bobble.
Crew-12 commander Jessica Meir announced that crew chose a handmade crocheted model of Earth with four connected satellites, each representing one of the crew. The Gaia Earth model has a small moon connected to it representing Meir and bananas represetning mission specialist Sophie Adenot, for example. It was made by Meir's childhood best friend, as well as Crew-12 pilot Jack Hathaway's daughter.
Now in space, Crew-12 astronauts head to ISS
After a successful and smooth launch, the Crew-12 astronauts are now in transit and will soon change out of their SpaceX launch and entry suits to settle to their eight-month mission to the International Space Station.
Read our full launch story by Josh Dinner from Cape Canaveral:
The next major event will be their arrival and docking at the International Space Station. Docking is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 14, at about 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT). NASA's live coverage for that will begin at 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT), and you will be able to see it live on this page.
It will be a Valentine's Day arrival for the new ISS crew.
NASA will hold a post launch press conference at 6:45 a.m. EST (1145 GMT). You can watch that live here:
With that, we'll be pausing our updates until the next major event and docking. Thanks so much for joining us on the Crew-12 launch!
A Valentine's Day docking dawns
Good morning, Space Fans! Welcome to docking day for NASA's Crew-12 astronauts, and it will be a match made in the stars as the SpaceX Dragon capsule carrying the four astronauts arrives at the International Space Station later today just in time for Valentine's Day.
The Crew-12 Dragon capsule Freedom will dock at the ISS at about 3:15 p.m. EST (2015 GMT) to end a 34-hour trip that began with a predawn launch from Florida's Space Coast early Friday.
Space.com's Spaceflight Editor Mike Wall has a preview for your docking webcast needs here:
You'll be able to watch the docking live on Space.com, courtesy of NASA, via the video feed at the top of this page and here.
Our live coverage will begin at abtou 1:15 p.m. EST (1815 GMT), when NASA's live webcast begins.
Here's a schedule to follow for today (all times in EST, GMT-5):
- 1:15 p.m. EST: Live NASA rendezvous and docking of SpaceX Crew-12 at ISS
- 3:15 p.m. EST: Docking scheduled
- 5 p.m. EST: Hatch opening followed by welcome remarks
Tally ho! Here they come...
Crew-12 aboard the SpaceX Dragon "Freedom" initiated their approach to the International Space Station at 1:33 p.m. EST (1833 GMT).
Before the thruster burn, they got their first look at their destination and configured their audio to connect directly with NASA astronaut Chris Williams on the station.
"Station, Dragon on the Big Loop, how do you hear?" radioed Jessica Meir, Crew-12 commander.
"It is great to hear yur voice! I hear you loud and clear and see your from the Cupola," replied Williams.
"We've got you loud and clear, too, Chris," said Meir. "And we were incredibly excited to see the ISS through our docking port window before we even got started getting suited. Can't wait to see you buddy."
"You too. Really looking forward to seeing you guys here," he responded.
Through Waypoint 1
Crew Dragon "Freedom" has proceeded through Waypoint 1 at about 220 meters away from the International Space Station and is on its way to Waypoint 2 at 20 meters. Once at the second point, the Dragon will briefly pause its approach and then proceed directly to a docking with the zenith or space-facing side of the Harmony node.
Docking is expected at about 3:11 p.m. EST (2011 GMT).
Hatches open! Crew-12 joins Expedition 74
After conducting standard leak checks and equalizing the pressure between their Dragon spacecraft and the International Space Station, SpaceX Crew-12 members Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev entered their orbital home for the next eight months at 5:30 p.m. EST (2030 GMT).
Welcoming them aboard were their new Expedition 74 crewmates Chris Williams of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev.
"We say welcome to Crew-12 today and we are happy they all arrived safe and sound," said Kud-Sverchkov, Expedition 74 commander, during a brief arrival ceremony. "We have been waiting for this moment for a very long time. So we are very happy and proud to work as a team here."
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