What Happened
- NASA's SpaceX Crew-12 mission successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) at 3:15 p.m. EST on February 14, 2026, approximately 34 hours after launch.
- The crew launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft at 5:15 a.m. EST on February 13, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida.
- The four-member crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
- The crew restored the ISS to a seven-person complement after a month of operations with only three crew members on board.
- The astronauts will conduct an approximately eight-month mission, performing research including ultrasound scans of blood vessels to study circulatory changes in microgravity and pharmaceutical studies on pneumonia-causing bacteria.
Static Topic Bridges
NASA's Commercial Crew Program
NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), managed by NASA's Kennedy Space Center, partners with private American companies to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's Starliner are the two spacecraft developed under this programme, which marked a fundamental shift from government-built vehicles (Space Shuttle, retired 2011) to commercially operated spacecraft.
- Programme inception: 2010 (Commercial Crew Development); first operational mission: SpaceX Crew-1, November 2020
- SpaceX Falcon 9 + Crew Dragon: reusable first-stage booster; Dragon capsule carries up to 4 astronauts; autonomous docking capability
- Crew-12 is the 12th operational crew rotation mission under CCP
- Cost per seat: approximately $55 million on Crew Dragon (compared to $90 million per seat on Russia's Soyuz during the post-Shuttle gap, 2011-2020)
- Boeing Starliner: first crewed flight (CFT) in June 2024; experienced technical issues during mission
- ISS partners: NASA (USA), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (Japan), ESA (Europe), CSA (Canada)
Connection to this news: Crew-12 demonstrates the maturity and reliability of NASA's public-private partnership model for human spaceflight, with SpaceX now routinely executing crew rotations that were once the exclusive domain of government space agencies.
India's Gaganyaan Programme
India's Gaganyaan programme, managed by ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) in Bengaluru, aims to demonstrate indigenous human spaceflight capability by sending a crew to low Earth orbit. If successful, India will become the fourth nation to independently conduct crewed spaceflight, after Russia, the United States, and China.
- Programme announced: Independence Day 2018 by Prime Minister Modi; Rs 12,000+ crore budget
- Spacecraft: Crew Module (capacity: 3 astronauts) + Service Module; orbital altitude: 400 km; mission duration: up to 7 days
- Launch vehicle: LVM3 (formerly GSLV Mk III) — India's heaviest operational rocket
- Crew Escape System: tested successfully in multiple abort missions
- First crewed mission: targeted for no earlier than 2027 (after multiple delays)
- Gaganyaan astronauts (Vyomanauts): four IAF test pilots selected; trained at Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Russia
- Uncrewed test flights: Gaganyaan-G1 (uncrewed orbital test) planned before crewed mission
Connection to this news: While NASA's Crew-12 represents the routine phase of American human spaceflight, India's Gaganyaan is in the developmental phase — the contrast illustrates the trajectory that all spacefaring nations follow, from first crewed flights to operational crew rotations.
International Space Station: Science Laboratory in Orbit
The International Space Station, operational since 2000, is the largest human-made structure in space and serves as a microgravity research laboratory conducting experiments in biology, physics, materials science, and Earth observation. The ISS orbits at approximately 400 km altitude, completing one orbit every 90 minutes at a speed of about 28,000 km/h.
- ISS dimensions: approximately 109 m x 73 m (larger than a football field); mass: ~420,000 kg
- Continuous human presence since November 2, 2000 (over 25 years)
- Partners: 5 space agencies — NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, CSA; 15 participating nations
- Research output: over 3,000 scientific experiments conducted; contributions to medicine, materials science, Earth observation
- ISS operational life: extended to 2030 (by agreement among partners); decommissioning planned via controlled deorbit
- India's connection: ISRO has sent biological experiments to ISS via international partnerships; post-Gaganyaan, India may seek partnership access
- Crew-12 research: cardiovascular adaptation studies (blood vessel ultrasound), microbial research (pneumonia-causing bacteria behaviour in microgravity)
Connection to this news: Crew-12's research programme exemplifies the ISS's value as a platform for understanding human physiology in space — knowledge that is directly relevant to India's Gaganyaan programme and future plans for an Indian Space Station.
Key Facts & Data
- Crew-12 launch: February 13, 2026, 5:15 a.m. EST; Cape Canaveral, Florida
- Docking: February 14, 2026, 3:15 p.m. EST
- Crew: Jessica Meir (NASA), Jack Hathaway (NASA), Sophie Adenot (ESA), Andrey Fedyaev (Roscosmos)
- Spacecraft: SpaceX Falcon 9 + Crew Dragon
- Mission duration: approximately 8 months
- ISS altitude: approximately 400 km; orbital speed: ~28,000 km/h
- ISS continuous habitation: since November 2, 2000 (25+ years)
- NASA Commercial Crew Program: operational since November 2020 (Crew-1)
- India's Gaganyaan: first crewed mission targeted no earlier than 2027
- ISS operational life extended to 2030