SpaceX and NASA launched a new crew Friday to the International Space Station nearly one month after prior crew members were evacuated following a medical emergency in orbit.
NASA said the SpaceX Crew-12 mission lifted off at 5:15 a.m. from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
“The spacecraft will take about 34 hours to autonomously dock with the space station’s Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, while traveling 17,000 mph in Earth orbit,” the agency said.
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev are on board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft.
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“What an absolutely wonderful start to the day,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said following the launch. “This mission has shown in many ways what it means to be mission-focused at NASA.”
“In the last couple of weeks, we brought Crew-11 home early, we pulled forward Crew-12 to the launch date today, all while simultaneously making preparations for the Artemis 2 mission, which its next window will open up in early March,” he added.
“The flight is the 12th crew rotation with SpaceX to the orbiting laboratory as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-12 will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations to help prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as benefit people on Earth,” according to NASA.
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In January, NASA made an “unprecedented” decision to bring a crew home early from the International Space Station after a medical emergency in orbit, marking the first time in the station’s 25-year history that a mission has been cut short for health reasons.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said at the time that a single crew member experienced a medical situation aboard the station on Jan. 7 and is now stable. After consultations with medical and agency leadership, he ordered the early return of the crew.
“For over 60 years, NASA has set the standard for safety and security in crewed space flight,” Isaacman said. “The health and the well-being of our astronauts is always and will be our highest priority.”
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That crew returned to earth on Jan. 15.
Fox News’ Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.
