NASA’s Crew-12 Astronauts Set to Re-Staff ISS

WASHINGTON: (Web Desk) – NASA has confirmed that four astronauts will launch next week to re-staff the International Space Station (ISS) following the unprecedented early return of the previous crew for medical reasons. The Crew-12 mission is scheduled to lift off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Wednesday, with a targeted launch no earlier than 6:01 am local time (1101 GMT).

The mission faced recent uncertainty after SpaceX temporarily grounded its Falcon 9 rockets to investigate a second-stage engine ignition failure, but the FAA has now cleared the vehicle to return to flight. Crew-12 will replace Crew-11, who returned in January, leaving the orbiting laboratory with a skeleton crew of three.

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Crew-12’s lineup includes American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who replaced Oleg Artemyev in November. Artemyev’s reassignment followed reports that he had allegedly shared classified materials from space, according to independent media.

Orbiting roughly 250 miles above Earth, the ISS has been continuously inhabited for 25 years. With its decommissioning scheduled for 2030, Crew-12 will be among the final teams to live aboard the iconic station.