NASA's Crew-12 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

NASA's Crew-12 Prepares for Launch | International Space Station

The four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose together for a crew portrait in their blue flight suits at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Russia, NASA astronauts Jack Hathaway and Jessica Meir, Pilot and Commander respectively, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot of France.

The four members of NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station pose together for an official crew portrait. From left are, Roscosmos cosmonaut and Mission Specialist Andrey Fedyaev of Russia, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, Commander and Pilot respectively, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut and Mission Specialist Sophie Adenot of France.

Crew-12 Mission emblem

Expedition 75 Mission emblem

The four crew members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission began their routine two-week quarantine on Wednesday, January 28, 2026, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston ahead of their upcoming launch to the International Space Station.

The earliest opportunity for Crew-12 to launch to the orbital complex is 6 a.m. EST Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. The next available launch opportunities are 5:38 a.m. on Thursday, February 12, and 5:15 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 13. NASA continues working toward potential launch windows for two important crewed missions this February: Artemis II and Crew-12. The agency will make any decisions on the best launch opportunity for each mission closer to flight.

Crew-12 will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot of France, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Russia to the orbiting laboratory. They are scheduled to travel Friday, Feb. 6, from Houston to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where they will remain in quarantine while conducting prelaunch operations.

Crew quarantine began during Apollo to reduce preflight illnesses and prevent subsequent symptoms during flight. During Crew 12’s quarantine, contact with other people is limited, and most interactions are handled remotely. Family members and select mission personnel undergo medical screening and must be cleared before interacting with the crew.

Before quarantine, the team also completed the crew equipment interface test on Jan. 12. The daylong exercise included crew members putting on their spacesuits, entering the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, conducting suit leak checks, and confirming seat fitting. They also familiarized themselves with the spacecraft’s interior, completed communications checkouts, and listened to the Dragon’s fans and pumps to prepare for sounds they will hear during the flight to the orbiting laboratory.

Follow Expedition 74:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/

Expedition 74 Crew

Station Commander: Mike Fincke (NASA)

JAXA Flight Engineer (Japan): Kimiya Yui

Roscosmos (Russia) Flight Engineers: Oleg Platonov, Sergey-Kud Sverchkov, Sergei Mikaev

NASA Flight Engineers: Zena Cardman, Chris Williams

An international partnership of space agencies provides and operates the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The principals are the space agencies of the United States, Russia, Europe, Japan, and Canada.

Image Credits: SpaceX, NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Release Date: Jan. 28, 2026

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