Four astronauts arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, February 14, 2026, to begin a multi-month research mission. The arrival comes after an earlier crew was forced to return to Earth ahead of schedule due to a medical issue.
The capsule carrying the four members of Crew-12 successfully docked with the orbital laboratory after a 34-hour journey that began with a launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The ISS represents a significant ongoing investment in space-based research and international collaboration.
“We’ve bridged to the continued presence of humanity in space, spanning more than 25 years in this very location,” said U.S. Astronaut Jessica Meir upon arrival at the station. “Looking back at Earth from these windows, we remember that cooperation is not only possible, but essential. There are no borders up here, and hope is universal.”
The other members of Crew-12 are American Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
The modern crew is replacing the Crew-11 team, which returned to Earth in January, a month earlier than planned, following the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history. Since then, the ISS, which orbits approximately 250 miles above Earth, has been staffed by a reduced crew of three astronauts.
NASA has not disclosed details regarding the health issue that prompted the previous mission’s early return.
Crew-12 will be among the last missions to arrive at the station, which has been continuously inhabited for the past quarter-century. The ISS is slated to be deorbited and brought down into a remote area of the Pacific Ocean in 2030, marking the end of an era in space exploration.
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