A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched early on Friday, 13 February, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying four astronauts and cosmonauts on an eight-month mission to the International Space Station (ISS). The Crew-12 team includes two Americans, a French astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut.
The 25-storey rocket, topped with the autonomously operated Crew Dragon capsule Freedom, lifted off at 10:15 GMT, its nine Merlin engines producing a dramatic display of fire and vapour.
The crew is expected to dock with the ISS on Saturday after a 34-hour flight, where they will join the station’s current occupants: NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergei Mikaev.
Crew-12 is led by veteran NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, who is returning for her second mission following a historic all-female spacewalk in 2019.
Joining her are rookie astronaut Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot of France and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, who is embarking on his second mission to the ISS.
During their time aboard the station, the team will conduct scientific, medical and technical research. This will include studies on pneumonia-causing bacteria, as well as experiments involving plants and nitrogen-fixing microbes aimed at supporting future space agriculture.
Their arrival follows the early departure of four Crew-11 members due to a medical evacuation in mid-January.
The ISS, which spans the length of an American football field, is operated by a US-Russian-led consortium that includes Canada, Japan and 11 European nations. It has been continuously inhabited for more than 25 years.
NASA has confirmed its commitment to maintaining the station until at least 2030, continuing a decades-long multinational effort that began after the Cold War.
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Jeff Bezos’ space venture suffered a dramatic launchpad explosion during a hot-fire test, delaying plans to compete with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in lunar and satellite missions.
The dual-class share structure outlined in SpaceX’s initial public offering (IPO) filing, which gives chief executive Elon Musk outsized control, has reignited one of Wall Street’s longest-running debates over corporate governance.
SpaceX has completed a successful test flight of Starship V3, the largest and most powerful rocket in history.
Financial documents released on Wednesday (20 May) ahead of SpaceX going public - in what is expected to be Wall Street’s biggest ever listing - revealed the firm made operating losses of $1.94 billion, despite Elon Musk being tipped to become the world’s first trillionaire.
A group of Azerbaijani civil society organisations has called for increased scrutiny of Swiss building materials giant Holcim, citing court rulings and ongoing investigations linked to its subsidiary Lafarge's activities during the Syrian conflict.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says ongoing conflict, funding pressures and international travel restrictions are complicating efforts to contain a fast-growing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Thai rescuers say five people have been pulled alive from a flooded cave in remote Laos, where seven villagers became trapped after heavy rain cut off access underground.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed 15 agreements during President Vladimir Putin’s state visit to Astana on Thursday (28 May), including deals on Kazakhstan’s first nuclear power plant and expanded oil cooperation with Russia.
The Philippines remains under a "severe threat" from China despite recent efforts by Washington and Beijing to ease tensions, Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said on Saturday (30 May).
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has urged Asian allies to increase military spending, warning of growing concern over China’s rapid military expansion and wider activities in the region.
Thai rescuers say five people have been pulled alive from a flooded cave in remote Laos, where seven villagers became trapped after heavy rain cut off access underground.
Three Latvian climbers have died after falling on Mount McKinley in Alaska’s Denali National Park and Preserve, authorities and a Latvian climbing organisation have said
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for 30 May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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