Crew-12 to Return ISS to Normal Complement
The crew of NASA’s Crew-12 mission arrived at Kennedy Space Center on February 6th, ahead of their planned launch to the International Space Station on Thursday, February 12th. This mission will support Expedition 74/75 and close a rare gap in the station’s capability, returning the ISS to its normal crew complement of seven astronauts.
After Crew-11 was cut short due to a medical situation in January, just three crew have been present on station, including Chris Williams as the sole NASA astronaut. They will be joined by four new spacefarers when Crew Dragon Freedom docks to the station on Friday, just 29 hours after launch.
Crew-12 is commanded by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir on her second spaceflight. An accomplished scientist, Meir holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Brown University, a master’s degree in space science from the International Space University, and a PhD in marine biology from the University of California, San Diego. Meir has supported numerous experiments related to human physiology in space and conducted research on the diving physiology of marine animals for her PhD. She was selected to join NASA’s Astronaut Group 21 in 2013; Meir previously flew to the ISS aboard Soyuz MS-15 in 2019 as part of Expedition 61/62. As part of that mission, she and fellow astronaut Christina Koch conducted the first all-female spacewalk to install and activate new batteries on the station’s truss.
NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway is the pilot for Crew-12, marking his first spaceflight. Hathaway is a U.S. Navy commander with 2500 flight hours, and holds a bachelor’s degree in physics and history from the U.S. Naval Academy, as well as a master’s degree in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He has flown 39 combat missions, including supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, and was selected to join NASA’s Astronaut Group 23 in 2021.
ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot is one of Crew-12’s mission specialists, also making her first spaceflight. Adenot is a colonel in the French Air and Space Force and France’s first female helicopter test pilot. She holds a degree in engineering from the Institut Supérieur de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace and a master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied the effects of artificial gravity on the vestibular system. She was selected to join ESA’s 2022 Astronaut Group and will become the first “career astronaut” of her class to fly, conducting a long-duration spaceflight. ESA has dubbed this flight the Epsilon mission, highlighting Adenot’s contributions to space exploration.
Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev is the other mission specialist for Crew-12, and will be making his second spaceflight. Fedyaev is a retired major in the Russian Air Force, with more than 500 hours in flight. He holds an engineering degree in air transport and air traffic control from the Balashov Military Aviation School and was selected for the 2012 Cosmonaut Group. Fedyaev previously flew aboard SpaceX Crew-6 in 2023, supporting Expedition 68/69. Fedyaev’s seat was originally assigned to Oleg Artemyev, but Artemyev was abruptly removed from the flight in December; The Insider reported that Artemyev had been accused of illegally sharing export-controlled information. Fedyaev’s previous experience will make him the first cosmonaut to fly twice on Crew Dragon.
Crew Dragon Freedom will be making its fifth flight into space, bringing it to the end of its original certification lifetime for NASA missions. However, further analysis may clear Freedom for additional missions; this has already happened for Endeavour, which made its sixth flight in support of Crew-11.
The mission will also see the return to flight of Falcon 9 after a brief grounding. On January 3rd, following a successful Starlink launch, a Falcon 9 second stage suffered an anomaly while attempting its deorbit burn. After an investigation, the FAA approved SpaceX’s forward action plan and cleared the rocket to return to flight. NASA and SpaceX similarly determined during a Flight Readiness Review on February 6th that there was no added risk to the Crew-12 mission.
