Wedoany.com Report on Feb 9th, The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on Friday that a SpaceX crewed spacecraft will launch next week to deliver four astronauts to the International Space Station. This launch marks the first arrival of a new long-duration crew at the ISS since the previous team returned to Earth early due to medical reasons.
NASA stated that the Crew-12 mission is scheduled to lift off aboard a Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday morning local time, with a launch window set for 6:01 a.m. (1101 GMT). Previously, SpaceX had paused all launch activities due to rocket engine issues, raising concerns about potential mission delays. A spokesperson for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to media on Friday: "The Falcon 9 vehicle has been cleared to return to flight."
This mission will replace the Crew-11 team, which returned prematurely in January, marking the first medical evacuation in the history of ISS operations. NASA did not disclose details of the specific health issue that led to the early termination of the mission. Since then, the station has been maintained by a reduced crew of three.
The Crew-12 team includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Fedyaev joined the mission in November last year, replacing the originally assigned crew member Oleg Artemyev. The Russian space agency stated that Artemyev has been reassigned to other duties.
Meir will serve as the mission commander. She previously conducted research in extreme environment biology. Adenot will become the second French woman to travel to space. Recalling watching the launch of the first French female astronaut when she was 14, she said: "It was a revelation. At that moment, I told myself: one day, that will be me."
During their eight-month stay on the space station, the astronauts will conduct numerous scientific experiments, including research on the effects of microgravity on the human body and testing new medical diagnostic equipment. Adenot will participate in evaluating an autonomous ultrasound system that combines artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology.
The International Space Station has been continuously operational for over a quarter of a century since the launch of its first module in 1998. According to current plans, this orbital laboratory is scheduled to end its mission in 2030, with a controlled descent into a designated area of the Pacific Ocean. The arriving astronauts will be among the final crews to inhabit the station during its closing phase.
This launch was originally scheduled to overlap with the launch window for NASA's Artemis 2 lunar flyby mission, but the latter has been postponed to March due to issues identified during technical inspections. The SpaceX crewed spacecraft is planned to launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on February 11, with backup launch windows on the following two days.
