Archivo de la etiqueta: spacestation

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 ‘Go’ For Launch

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission has been cleared to proceed with launch preparations following a Flight Readiness Review with NASA, SpaceX, and the agency’s international partners. Liftoff of Crew-12 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft remains on track for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on their eight-month science mission.

Already in quarantine, the Crew-12 crew members arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday night to begin their final preparations ahead of launch. On Saturday, Feb. 7, SpaceX will roll the rocket and spacecraft to pad 40 where it will be raised into its launch position. The crew also will take questions during a virtual news conference from Astronaut Crew Quarters at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8, available on NASA Kennedy’s YouTube channel. This will be the crew’s final media opportunity before launch. The four crew will perform a full rehearsal of launch day activities on the morning of Monday, Feb. 9, including putting on their spacesuits, going to their launch pad, and strapping into the Dragon spacecraft.

Mission managers from NASA and SpaceX also will discuss the preparations and launch status at 11 a.m. on Feb. 9 from Kennedy.

As part of the agency’s Flight Readiness Review, NASA evaluated the findings from SpaceX’s review of a Starlink mission where a Falcon 9 second stage experienced an issue during preparations for its deorbit burn. NASA and SpaceX have determined, since the Falcon 9 second stage flies a different deorbit profile for NASA’s crewed missions, there is no increased risk to crew safety during ascent. The agency and SpaceX are “go” for Crew-12 to launch to the International Space Station.

Crew-12 is the 12th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 13th flight with astronauts for NASA, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 Flies to NASA Kennedy

The crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to complete final preparations before their launch to the International Space Station.

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev took off at 6:55 p.m. EST from Ellington Field near the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. They are expected to land around 8:42 p.m. at NASA Kennedy’s Launch and Landing Facility.

Updates regarding the crews arrival will be posted on the mission blog as well as @NASAKennedy on X, or NASA Kennedy on Facebook.

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Elyna Niles-Carnes

Week Ends with Dragon Preps, Space Physics, and Human Research

Expedition 74 wrapped up the week with more preparations for the upcoming launch and arrival of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission. The orbital trio also studied space physics and human research while resupplying and inventorying lab supplies and tools aboard the International Space Station.

NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams kicked off his shift with SpaceX Dragon operations. Williams first transferred some completed experiments, used hardware, and trash inside a Dragon spacecraft that arrived on August 25, 2025. Next, he staged a variety of gear that will be used by the four Crew-12 members shortly after their arrival to the space station following their launch targeted for no earlier than Thursday, Feb. 11.

After lunchtime, Williams focused on science hardware first injecting gas into physics experiment hardware installed inside the Microgravity Science Glovebox. He was testing ways to control spacecraft fuel tank pressure due to cryogenic fuel propellants evaporating as a result of the surrounding heat. Next, he resupplied Human Research Facility kits with DNA oral swabs, blood sample tubes, and gloves to ensure ongoing biomedical research.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev, both Roscosmos cosmonauts, joined each other for a respiratory test at the beginning of their shift on Friday. The duo took turns wearing tracheal acoustic sensors that recorded their exhalation rate as they performed controlled breathing maneuvers. Researchers will use the sound data to assess how the lack of gravity affects a crew member’s respiratory function.

Afterward, Kud-Sverchkov inventoried tools throughout the station’s Roscosmos segment. Next, he refreshed his Soyuz spacecraft piloting skills familiarizing himself with return to Earth operations using a computer simulator. Mikaev configured data and processing hardware that controls a variety of research projects including material science, plasma physics, and advanced technology demonstrations. Finally, he joined Kud-Sverchkov for the Soyuz descent simulations before ending his shift swapping cargo in and out of the Progress 92 cargo craft.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Dragon Preps, Artificial Intelligence, and Medical Gear Fill Crew’s Day

SpaceX Dragon arrival preparations and artificial intelligence research to improve crew operations continued aboard the International Space Station on Thursday. The Expedition 74 crew also checked out new medical hardware and trained to use emergency gear while keeping up orbital lab maintenance.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission continues its countdown to a launch targeted for no earlier than 6:01 a.m. EST on Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four Crew-12 members Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency), and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos will dock to the orbital outpost’s space-facing port on the Harmony module the following day. They will spend nine months conducting advanced microgravity research aboard the orbital outpost benefitting humans living on and off the Earth.

Station Flight Engineer Chris Williams kept up his Dragon training and station configurations ahead of Crew-12’s planned arrival next week. Williams spent an hour continuing to review the procedures he will use while monitoring Dragon’s automated approach and rendezvous toward Harmony. Afterward, he began gathering and organizing standard spacecraft emergency hardware that will be transferred into Dragon shortly after it arrives.

Williams also checked out the new Ultrasound 3 biomedical device that is replacing the Ultrasound 2 scanner on the station. He powered on the device in the Columbus laboratory module and tested its configurations and electrical connections with a laptop computer and the Human Research Facility. The Ultrasound 3 was delivered to the orbital outpost on Sept. 18, 2025, aboard Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft. It can be used for advanced imaging of a crew member’s cardiovascular, abdominal, and musculoskeletal systems in weightlessness with real-time guidance from doctors on the ground.

Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev, station commander and flight engineer respectively, joined each other on Thursday exploring using artificial intelligence to boost crew efficiency aboard the orbital outpost. The duo tested AI-assisted tools to convert speech-to-text for speedier documentation and improve data handling and communications between the crew and ground controllers.

Kud-Sverchkov also conducted crew medical officer training familiarizing himself  a variety of emergency hardware, including an automated external defibrillator and respiratory support pack, to treat a crew member in the unlikely event of a medical situation aboard the space station. The two-time station resident continued experiment operations for the Plasma Kristall-4 investigation that explores complex plasmas to advance spacecraft designs, better understand planetary formation, and improve fundamental physics research.

Mikaev began his shift testing space-to-ground communications hardware with mission controllers in Russia. Afterward, the first-time space flyer checked the Elektron oxygen generator’s water tanks for air bubbles to ensure the life support device’s continuous operation.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia

Crew Studies Health, Earth Photography, and Works Dragon Preps

Biomedical research to promote astronaut health and Earth observations to understand the effects of natural catastrophes topped the science schedule aboard the International Space Station on Wednesday. The Expedition 74 trio is also gearing up for the arrival of the SpaceX Crew-12 mission while continuing lab maintenance for the upkeep of the orbiting lab.

A second day of CIPHER human research operations awaited NASA Flight Engineer Chris Williams as doctors on the ground continuously monitor how an astronaut’s body adapts to weightlessness. Williams began his shift collecting his blood samples then processing them in a centrifuge. Next, he photographed the sample tube configurations after the centrifuge activities, then stowed the samples in a science freezer for preservation and later analysis. Researchers are using the biomedical data collected from this investigation to understand how human health changes before, during, and after a spaceflight —critical knowledge for safeguarding crews on future missions farther from Earth

After lunchtime, Williams called down to Earth for a video conference with the four SpaceX Crew-12 members, who are targeted to launch to the orbital outpost no earlier than Feb. 11. Commander Jessica Meir and Pilot Jack Hathaway, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Sophie Adenot of ESA (European Space Agency) and Andrey Fedyaev of Roscosmos called up to the station from NASA’s Mission Control Center in Houston for station familiarization activities prior to their arrival the day after launching from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Afterward, Williams continued his computer training to prepare for his monitoring role as Crew-12 approaches the station aboard the SpaceX Dragon.

Roscosmos Flight Engineer Sergei Mikaev once again pointed a camera out a station window and photographed Earth landmarks to capture areas struck by natural disasters. Mikaev targeted regions from Portugal to Kazakhstan then downloaded the imagery to a hard drive for return and analysis on Earth. Researchers will study the imagery to understand how the landscape is affected by and adapts to events such as storms, landslides, and earthquakes.

Station Commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov from Roscosmos began his shift setting up video gear to record experiment operations for the Plasma Kristall-4 physics study. Next, Kud-Sverchkov replaced a laptop computer, installed a new computer battery, then photographed the completed job inside the Nauka science module. The two-time space station visitor wrapped up his shift on orbital plumbing and life support maintenance in the orbiting lab’s Roscosmos modules.

Learn more about station activities by following the space station blog, @space_station on X, as well as the ISS Facebook and ISS Instagram accounts.

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Mark A. Garcia