Overview
- SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom docked on Feb. 14 at 3:15 p.m. Eastern after a roughly 34‑hour flight that began with a Feb. 13, 5:15 a.m. launch from Cape Canaveral.
- The incoming crew comprises NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA’s Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos’ Andrey Fedyaev, joining Chris Williams, Sergey Kud‑Sverchkov, and Sergei Mikaev on the station.
- Crew‑12 begins an eight‑to‑nine‑month rotation focused on human health and technology studies, including research on pneumonia‑related heart damage, on‑demand IV fluid generation, and automated plant monitoring, with spacewalks planned.
- Prelaunch weather forced schedule shifts due to high winds; the Falcon 9 performed a clean ascent and booster landing at LZ‑40, and hatches opened about two hours after docking.
- ESA confirmed the official start of Adenot’s εpsilon mission, a long‑duration European campaign of up to 36 experiments across disciplines from human physiology to technology demonstrations.