NASA, SpaceX launch fresh crew to the space station

Running a day late, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched Friday on a mission to deliver a fresh three-man one-woman crew to the International Space Station.

The Falcon 9 lifted off at 11:43 a.m. EDT from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as mission control kept a close eye on clouds rolling into the area shortly before launch time. 

With commander Zena Cardman and co-pilot Mike Fincke monitoring cockpit displays, flanked on the left by Japanese Astronaut Kimiya Yui and on the right by cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, the Crew Dragon capsule began its climb into the same orbital plane as the space station.

After boosting the rocket out of the dense lower atmosphere, the flight plan called for the first stage to fall away and fly itself back to landing at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station — the 65th such landing in Florida — while the rocket's upper stage completes the climb to orbit.

The crew originally hoped to take off Thursday, but clouds built up over the launch site and SpaceX called off the countdown just 67 seconds before liftoff. Weather was again a concern Friday, especially the possibility of high winds and waves along the crew's ascent trajectory.

Had the crew launched Thursday, it would have taken them nearly 40 hours to catch up with the space station. With a launch Friday, the trip was expected to take just 16 hours, setting up a docking at the forward Harmony module's space-facing port at 3 a.m. Saturday — the same time they would have docked had they launched Thursday.

Crew 11 commander Zena Cardman, reviewing procedures in a SpaceX cockpit simulator.NASA

Cardman's co-pilot for the Crew 11 mission is NASA's Michael Fincke, a 58-year-old three-flight veteran who trained to fly aboard Boeing's Starliner as did Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui. In the wake of the problems encountered last year during the Starliner test flight, and the expected long delay before it's launched again, both ended up assigned to Crew 11.

The fourth crew member is Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, a space rookie. Like his crewmates, he also expected to fly aboard another spacecraft, in his case, a Russian Soyuz.

But he ended up assigned to Crew 11 as part of a joint U.S.-Russian seat-swap program intended to ensure at least one representative of each country is always on board the ISS even if one crew ferry ship has to depart in an emergency, taking all of its crew members with it. Platonov is the seventh cosmonaut to fly aboard a Crew Dragon under theagreement.

Fincke said the crew is more than ready for launch.

"Space has been calling my name ever since I returned from my last mission in 2011," he posted on the social media platform X. "Our crew is ready. Let's do this! Go Falcon, Go Dragon, Go Crew-11!"

Their ride to the station — the Crew Dragon Endeavour — is making its sixth flight, a new record for NASA and SpaceX.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew 11 Dragon spacecraft was hauled to the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center over the weekend. SpaceX test fired the booster's nine first-stage engines Tuesday to clear the way for launch.SpaceX

Steven Stich, manager of NASA's commercial crew program, said SpaceX is working to certify Crew Dragons for up to 15 flights. The SpaceX ferry ships currently are certified for five flights, but Stich said a detailed analysis of Endeavour's flight history, performance and test results allowed NASA to clear the ship for a sixth flight.

"Our focus here is to really get to this particular launch, to make sure that we have everything cleared for six flights, and then down the road, we may have a little bit more work to do depending on the specific vehicle and how many flights it is.

"The overall goal was 15 flights, and we've gotten there on many components. Now we're just down to a handful that really are there (confirmed good) for only six flights."

Catching up with the space station

It will take the Crew Dragon 39 hours to catch up with the station early Saturday.

After passing about 1,200 feet directly below the outpost, Endeavour will loop up, cross in front of the lab and then on up to a point directly above the forward Harmony module's space-facing port. From there, it will move straight down for docking around 3 a.m.

The crew will be welcomed aboard by Crew 10 commander Anne McClain, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese station commander Takuya Onishi and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, who were launched to the station on March 14. Also on hand will be Soyuz MS-27/73S cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky along with NASA's Jonny Kim, launched from Kazakhstan on April 8.

Also on board: clothing and personal items for Cardman that were launched last year before her expected Crew 9 flight. Included in those personal items were birthday cards, including one from her father, a physicist, who passed away last August just before NASA bumped Cardman from Crew 9.

She will celebrate her next birthday, turning 38, in October.

"My parents knew that I would be on the space station for my birthday last year, we thought, so they sent a few items in advance so that I could feel at home while I was up there. And now I'll have the chance to see them," Cardman told CBS News.

"My whole history, the people who have brought me to where I am today, I think it's going to feel really special to feel that connection to my dad, to my parents on my birthday in space."

The Crew 11 fliers will join seven astronauts and cosmonauts already aboard the space station. Bottom row, left to right: Crew 10 commander Anne McLain and Soyuz flight engineer Jonny Kim, a NASA astronaut. Middle row, left to right: Crew 10 cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov and cosmonaut Alexey Zubritsky; top row, left to right: Crew 10 pilot Nichole Ayers and Japanese crewmate Takuya Onishi.NASA

Cardman and her crewmates are replacing the Crew 10 fliers, who plan to undock Aug. 6, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast to close out a 145-day mission. Highlights included a spacewalk by McClain and Ayers and a non-stop schedule of research and station maintenance.

"I'm kind of looking forward to doing nothing for a couple of days," McClain joked when asked what she looked forward to the most about returning to Earth. Onishi said he was looking forward to seeing his family again, "and also taking a hot shower on the ground!"

Added Ayers, who said she'll miss the opportunity to photograph Earth from the vantage point of space: "In addition to what Anne and Tak said, I'm actually looking forward to a big, juicy burger on the beach."

Planning for months in orbit

It's not yet known how long Crew 11 will be on board the space station.

Up to this point, long-duration crews, U.S. and Russian, have typically spent around six months in orbit. But starting with the Soyuz MS-27/73S mission, the Russians have switched to eight-month stays. NASA may follow suit starting with the Crew 12 mission next year.

The Trump administration's proposed budget for fiscal 2026 would reduce NASA funding by nearly 25 percent while directing the agency to scale back work aboard the ISS in favor of more aggressive planning for eventual crewed missions to Mars.

NASA managers are now considering lengthening crew stays and possibly reducing Dragon crews from four to three and perhaps just two, one American and one Russian. A reduced crew would need fewer resupply missions, saving additional money. But it would sharply reduce the amount of research that could be carried out.

No final decisions have been made.

"When we launch ... we have a six-month mission duration that we baseline," said Stich. "We can extend the mission in real time as needed as we better understand the reconciliation bill and the appropriations process and what that means relative to the overall station manifest."

For her part, Cardman said she would welcome an additional two months in orbit.

"I can't wait to be in space, and two extra months would be a gift," she said. "Yes, we're baselined for six months right now, with the ability to extend that pending further analysis. For me, it would be an absolute privilege to stay for even longer."