Successful lift-off for Crew-12 on 13 February 2026

Science & Exploration

13/02/2026
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Crew-12 lifted off on Friday 13 February 2026 at 10:15 GMT / 11:15 CET (05:15 ET) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA. Initially scheduled on the 11 February, the launch was postponed twice due to forecast weather conditions along the flight path of the Dragon spacecraft.

Launch of Crew-12 to the ISS

Strapped into the SpaceX Dragon Freedom, the crew of four launched into orbit on top of a Falcon 9 rocket. Their destination is the International Space Station, where they will work and live for nine months. 

Crew-12 consists of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev. 

Ascent to orbit

Just two and a half minutes after lift-off, the Falcon 9 first-stage booster separated from the rocket and touched down around five minutes later on Landing Zone 40 at Kennedy Space Center.   

After separation, the second stage ignited and propelled Dragon into orbit, with the crew experiencing about 2 g during this rapid sequence of events. Around nine minutes after lift‑off, once the second stage shut down its engines, a zero‑g indicator – a plush toy named Gaia – began to float inside the capsule, signalling that the crew had reached orbit.

Arrival at the Space Station

Dragon rendezvous and docking with the International Space Station

Dragon will spend around 34 hours performing phasing manoeuvres to catch up with the Station before docking with the Node-2 Zenith port. The hatches will be opened around two hours later.  

Crew-12 will be welcomed on board by NASA astronaut Christopher Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergei Kud‑Sverchkov and Sergei Mikayev, who have been on the Station since their arrival on the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft in November 2025.

Sophie Adenot and Jack Hathaway, who are first-time flyers, will then receive their astronaut wings from Station Commander Sergei Kud‑Sverchkov during a short ceremony.

Follow Sophie’s mission on the εpsilon page and on her social media (X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn). 

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