A SpaceX rocket successfully launched from Florida early yesterday, carrying a team of two US NASA astronauts, a French astronaut, and a Russian cosmonaut on their way to the International Space Station (ISS) for an eight-month research mission in a microgravity environment.
The Falcon 9 rocket, equipped with an autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule named “Freedom”, took off from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Florida’s Atlantic Coast at approximately 5:15 am EST (1015 GMT). The launch was captured on a live NASA-SpaceX webcast as the rocket, powered by nine Merlin engines, ascended from the launch tower, consuming 700,000 gallons of fuel per second and creating a spectacular sight with vapor clouds and a reddish fireball illuminating the sky before dawn.
After nine minutes into the flight, the Falcon 9’s upper-stage rocket had accelerated to over 17,000 miles per hour (27,360 kph), successfully propelling the Crew Dragon into orbit. Simultaneously, the reusable lower-stage booster autonomously returned to Earth, landing safely at a designated pad in Cape Canaveral.
The crew of four is expected to arrive at the space station later today following a 34-hour journey, where they will dock with the station located approximately 250 miles (420 km) above Earth.
This mission, known as Crew-12, signifies the 12th long-duration ISS expedition that NASA has conducted using a SpaceX launch vehicle since the company, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, began transporting US astronauts to space in May 2020.
Leading the Crew-12 team is Jessica Meir, a 48-year-old veteran astronaut and marine biologist who is embarking on her second space station trip, nearly seven years after achieving a milestone with Nasa colleague Christina Koch by completing the first all-female spacewalk in history.
Expressing her gratitude and readiness for the mission ahead, Meir communicated with the SpaceX flight control center in Los Angeles, stating, “Thank you team, that was quite a ride. Crew-12 is grateful and ready for the journey ahead. We’re on our way.”
Accompanying Meir on the mission are Jack Hathaway, a 43-year-old former US Navy fighter pilot and rookie astronaut; Sophie Adenot, a 43-year-old European Space Agency astronaut and skilled helicopter pilot from France; as well as Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, a former military pilot embarking on his second ISS mission.
