The International Space Station (ISS) is set to regain full staffing with the upcoming launch of Crew-12, scheduled as early as Friday morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida. This mission is particularly significant following an unexpected medical situation in January that necessitated the premature return of Crew-11, leaving only one American astronaut, Chris Williams, aboard the station for an extended period.
The Crew and Their Mission
Crew-12 comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Sophie Adenot, European Space Agency astronaut Jack Hathaway, and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They will join Williams, who arrived on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft in November 2025, to restore the ISS to its normal operational capacity. The four astronauts from Crew-11 — Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Japan’s Kimiya Yui, and Russia’s Oleg Platonov — safely returned to Earth on January 15th, though NASA has not revealed the specifics of the medical issue that prompted their early departure, citing privacy concerns.
The Importance of International Cooperation
The incident underscored the vital role of the ongoing “seat swap” agreement between NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian Space Agency. This arrangement ensures at least one American and one Russian cosmonaut are always present on the ISS, providing operational redundancy for maintaining critical modules. While Williams was not entirely alone during the emergency — cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev remained on board — the situation highlighted the necessity of this collaborative system.
How to Watch the Launch
NASA plans to launch Crew-12 no earlier than 5:15 a.m. ET on Friday, February 13th, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft. Live coverage will begin at 3:15 a.m. ET and can be streamed through NASA’s YouTube channel. The event will also be broadcast on NASA+, the agency’s free on-demand streaming service, as well as on NASA’s Facebook and X accounts.
If the launch proceeds as scheduled, Crew-12 is expected to dock at the ISS around 3:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, February 14th, beginning an eight-month stay in orbit.
The successful launch of Crew-12 is critical to maintaining continuous human presence aboard the ISS and ensuring the uninterrupted continuation of scientific research in low Earth orbit.
