SpaceX Crew-12
Twelfth Commercial Crew flight to the ISS.
SpaceX Crew-12 was the twelfth operational flight under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program and the 20th crewed orbital mission of a Crew Dragon. It carried four astronauts to the International Space Station: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. The mission launched on 13 February 2026.
About two and a half months before launch, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was suddenly pulled from the crew. Roscosmos said he was moving to other work, but investigative outlet The Insider reported that Artemyev had been expelled from the U.S. after being accused of violating International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The alleged violation involved photographing SpaceX engines, documents, and other technology with his phone at SpaceX’s Hawthorne, California facility in late November, and then “exporting” that information. That triggered an inter-agency investigation. Artemyev was replaced by Fedyaev, who became the first Russian to fly twice on Crew Dragon, which cut down on training time.
The mission was originally scheduled for no earlier than 11 February 2026. After Crew-11 returned early on 15 January 2026 due to a medical issue with one crew member, NASA and SpaceX looked at moving the launch up to shorten the time the ISS had a reduced crew. But on 9 February, bad weather in the ascent corridor pushed the launch to 12 February, and then again to 13 February. Liftoff happened on 13 February at 10:15 UTC, marking the first use of a new Falcon 9 booster recovery site, Landing Zone 40. Docking with the ISS occurred on 14 February at 20:15 UTC, and after hatch opening at 22:14 UTC, the four astronauts entered the station, bringing the crew back to seven in a rare indirect handover due to Crew-11’s early departure.
ESA named its portion of the mission Epsilon on 20 June 2025, with Sophie Adenot as the astronaut. It was her first trip to space. She was selected in the 2022 European Space Agency Astronaut Group and became the first career astronaut from that class to fly. The mission patch uses a stylized lowercase epsilon in place of the “E,” meant to symbolize a small but impactful variable in the collaborative effort of space exploration. A hummingbird on the patch highlights how even tiny creatures matter in nature, tying into the idea that every contribution counts.
Quick Facts
- Names List
- USCV-12
- Mission Type
- ISS crew transport
- Operator
- SpaceX
- Spacecraft Type
- SpaceX Crew Dragon
- Crew Size
- 4
- Crew Members
- Jessica Meir · Jack Hathaway · Sophie Adenot · Andrey Fedyaev
- Crew Expedition
- Expedition 74/75
- Launch Date
- 13 February 2026, 10:15:56 UTC (5:15:56 am EST)
- Launch Rocket
- Falcon 9 Block 5 (B1101.2), / Flight599
- Launch Site
- Cape Canaveral, SLC40
- Landing Date
- September 2026 (planned)
- Landing Site
- Pacific Ocean (planned)
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
In December 2025, two and a half months before launch, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev was abruptly removed from the Crew-12 mission, with Roscosmos officially citing his 'transition to other work'. However, investigative news site The Insider reported that Artemyev was expelled from the United States after being accused of violating International Traffic in Arms Regulations by photographing SpaceX engines, documents, and other technologies with his phone and then 'exporting' that information. The alleged violation occurred at SpaceX's facility in Hawthorne, California, in late November and prompted an inter-agency investigation. Artemyev was replaced by cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who became the first Russian to fly twice on Crew Dragon, reducing the amount of training required.
Reader's Guide
SpaceX Crew-12 represents a significant milestone in the Commercial Crew Program as the twelfth operational flight and the 20th crewed orbital flight of a Crew Dragon. The mission's importance is underscored by the controversy surrounding the removal of cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, which highlighted ongoing tensions and security concerns in international space cooperation. The incident, involving alleged photographing of SpaceX technologies, led to an inter-agency investigation and Artemyev's replacement by Andrey Fedyaev, who became the first Russian to fly twice on Crew Dragon. The mission also demonstrated operational flexibility when NASA and SpaceX adjusted the launch schedule following the early return of Crew-11 due to a medical issue, ultimately launching after weather delays. The inclusion of ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot as the first career astronaut from the 2022 class to fly, and her assignment named Epsilon, emphasizes the collaborative nature of the ISS program. Adenot's planned participation in nearly 200 experiments and her testing of the EuroSuit space suit—developed by French companies and transported via a SpaceX cargo mission—underscores the ongoing integration of European technologies and research into ISS operations. The mission's patch, with its epsilon symbol and hummingbird, encapsulates the theme that small contributions matter in the broader effort of space exploration.
Did You Know?
- The mission launched on 13 February 2026 after two weather-related delays, and marked the first use of Landing Zone 40 for Falcon 9 booster recovery.
- ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot tested a development version of the EuroSuit space suit on three dates in 2026; the suit was delivered to the ISS aboard SpaceX CRS-34.
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