SpaceX launches Crew-11 astronauts on six-month mission to space

The Crew-11 mission ferried four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a science and technology expedition. The crew includes Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

In Short

• Spacecraft is expected to dock at ISS early Saturday morning
• This mission marks the 11th operational crew rotation flight
• Successful launch will allow Crew-11 astronauts to continue vital research

Nasa launched the Crew-11 mission on Friday following a weather-related delay the previous day. The launch, originally scheduled for July 31, was scrubbed just minutes before liftoff due to cumulus clouds violating weather regulations at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida.

Today’s liftoff from Launch Complex 39A took place at 9:13 PM IST. Eight minutes after liftoff, the mission’s Falcon 9 booster touched down at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Crew-11 mission ferried four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) for a science and technology expedition. The crew includes Nasa astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

The spacecraft is expected to dock at the ISS early Saturday morning.

Following a scheduled handover, the current Expedition 73/74 crew of Nasa astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, along with JAXA astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, will return to Earth.

This mission marks the 11th operational crew rotation flight to the ISS under Nasa’s Commercial Crew Program and continues the partnership with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft to maintain a consistent human presence aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The successful launch will allow the Crew-11 astronauts to continue vital research in microgravity and support Nasa’s broader objectives for human spaceflight and exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

The launch comes weeks after SpaceX succesfully returned four astronauts as part of the Axiom-4 mission, including India's Shubhanshu Shukla, from the flying laboratory.

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