A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral early Friday, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station for an eight-month research mission. The Crew-12 flight lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a Crew Dragon capsule named "Freedom", marking the 12th long-duration ISS crew rotation launched by SpaceX for NASA since 2020. The team is expected to dock with the station on Saturday after a 34-hour journey.
The multinational crew is led by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, joined by fellow American Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot of the European Space Agency, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. Shortly after reaching orbit, Meir described the launch as "quite a ride" and said the crew was ready for the mission ahead. The reusable Falcon 9 booster successfully returned to Earth minutes after liftoff.
Once aboard the ISS, the astronauts will conduct scientific and medical experiments in microgravity, including research on bacteria linked to pneumonia and plant growth systems for future deep-space missions. Much of the work supports NASA's broader exploration goals under its Artemis programme, aimed at returning astronauts to the moon and eventually sending humans to Mars.