The International Space Station (ISS) welcomed a new crew late Thursday as a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully docked, delivering four astronauts to the orbiting laboratory. The team consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot.
The spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Friday, February 13, 2026, initiating the SpaceX Crew-12 mission. Jessica Meir is serving as the spacecraft commander for this mission, marking her second trip to the ISS. She previously spent 205 days in space as a flight engineer during Expeditions 61 and 62, and participated in the first all-woman spacewalks alongside Christina Koch, accumulating 21 hours and 44 minutes of extravehicular activity.
Prior to this mission, Meir held several key roles within NASA, including assistant to the chief astronaut for commercial crew (SpaceX), deputy for the Flight Integration Division, and assistant to the chief astronaut for the human landing system. Her background includes a doctorate in marine biology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and prior research focused on the diving physiology of emperor penguins and bar-headed geese.
Jack Hathaway is making his first spaceflight as the spacecraft pilot. A commander in the United States Navy, Hathaway was selected as an astronaut candidate in 2021.
The arrival of Crew-12 follows a period of continuous human presence on the ISS, a collaborative project involving multiple international space agencies. The crew will conduct scientific research, maintain the station, and prepare for future missions. NASA has not yet announced the duration of Crew-12’s stay aboard the ISS.
