The SpaceX Crew-12 crewed mission launched successfully on February 13, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).

The Crew Dragon capsule “Freedom” lifted off from Cape Canaveral atop a Falcon 9 rocket, transporting astronauts from NASA, ESA, and Roscosmos.

The crew is expected to remain on the station for about eight months, restoring the onboard team to seven members.

The launch was delayed by two days due to unfavorable weather conditions, and it followed an investigation related to a Falcon 9 flight.

The SpaceX Crew-12 mission launched successfully on the morning of February 13, sending four astronauts into low Earth orbit bound for the ISS, where the crew had been temporarily reduced to just three people.

The Crew Dragon “Freedom” capsule lifted off at 12:15 p.m. Greek time from Cape Canaveral aboard a Falcon 9 rocket, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrei Fedyayev.

The four are expected to stay on the station for roughly eight months, restoring the crew size to its usual level of seven members.

Shortly after reaching orbit, Meir told mission control that “the launch was spectacular,” adding that “we left Earth, but Earth didn’t leave us,” describing the emotional intensity of the moment.

The launch had been delayed two days due to strong winds and poor weather. The mission also took place slightly earlier than originally planned because the previous Crew-11 team returned to Earth in January after a medical incident that required the first emergency medical evacuation of an astronaut from the ISS.

Meanwhile, Falcon 9 flights had been briefly suspended in early February when, during a Starlink mission, the rocket’s upper stage failed to complete a planned reentry procedure, triggering an investigation overseen by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. After inspections were completed, the rocket returned to operational use on February 6, with no changes required to the Crew-12 flight profile.