NASA has announced the upcoming Crew-12 mission, which will transport four astronauts to the International Space Station, following a recent medical evacuation of the previous crew.
NASA has confirmed that the Crew-12 mission will launch this week with four astronauts aboard to replace the previous crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The announcement follows a recent medical evacuation of the previous crew due to emergencies. The Crew-12 mission, which will be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is scheduled for Wednesday, the 11th, with a planned launch time of no earlier than 8:01 AM Brasilia time.
The team for Crew-12 consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos. This mission has faced some last-minute challenges, including rocket issues and personnel changes that required adjustments to the crew's lineup. Earlier this week, SpaceX grounded their Falcon 9 rockets as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigated a reported "engine ignition failure in the second stage" of the rocket’s flight operations.
However, a spokesperson for SpaceX confirmed that the Falcon 9 vehicle has been cleared to resume flying. With the Crew-12 mission's launch approaching, NASA is ensuring that the ISS remains properly staffed and capable of conducting essential experiments and operations, underlining the importance of maintaining a continuous presence in low Earth orbit for scientific research and international cooperation in space exploration.
