The SpaceX Crew-12 mission crew, which includes Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev, has headed to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to undergo final procedures before launching to the International Space Station. NASA reported this on Friday.
According to the agency, the team is expected to arrive on Saturday around 4:42 Moscow time at the center's landing site. After that, the astronauts will begin final checks of the ship, centrifuge training, and practicing actions in case of emergency situations.
The launch of Crew-12 is scheduled for February 11, if weather conditions and technical checks do not make adjustments. The flight will be carried out on the reusable SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which will deliver four crew members to orbit. The mission includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency representative Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrei Fedyaev.
Crew Dragon will be launched into orbit by a Falcon 9 rocket, which will traditionally launch from the LC-39A pad. After docking with the ISS, the crew will replace the participants of the previous Crew-11 mission and spend about six months on the station, engaged in scientific experiments and equipment maintenance.
For Fedyaev, this is the second flight as part of an American mission. His participation continues the program of cross-flights between Roscosmos and NASA, which allows maintaining a constant presence of representatives of both countries on the station, regardless of the ships used.
The launch of Crew-12 will be the first manned launch of 2026 for SpaceX and will open the next stage of joint operation of the ISS.