The Crew Dragon vessel achieved docking with the International Space Station on Saturday, February 14, 2026. The astronauts opened the hatches and transitioned aboard the orbital complex.
The arrival of four fresh crew members as part of the Crew-12 mission—NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency representative Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyayev—brought the total count aboard the station to seven individuals. Consequently, the American space agency has once again restored its orbital segment to its full complement.
The ISS crew size fluctuates based on rotation schedules and short-term private astronaut flights. However, since late 2020, when Crew Dragon ships commenced regular service, NASA has aimed to keep at least four representatives of the so-called USOS (United States Orbital Segment) on the station. This comprises astronauts from the USA, Canada, Europe, and Japan, trained to operate within the American segment of the station, which NASA jointly manages with international partners.
The situation shifted at the onset of the new year. One of the four participants on the Crew-11 mission encountered a medical issue shortly after reaching the station. NASA took the unprecedented step of bringing the crew back to Earth ahead of schedule on January 15. While the identity of the affected astronaut remains undisclosed, it is reported they are currently recovering back on our planet.
Following their departure, only a single NASA representative remained in orbit: astronaut Chris Williams. He had arrived at the station in November aboard a Russian Soyuz craft alongside cosmonauts Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and Sergey Mikaev.
The ISS constitutes an intricate and vast orbital structure, much of which has been operational for over two decades. Under these circumstances, Williams had to devote the majority of his time to system maintenance and monitoring.
Meanwhile, NASA and SpaceX engineers on the ground worked under intense pressure. Due to the early return of Crew-11, there was a decision to expedite the readiness of the Crew-12 mission to minimize the duration when the American station segment was effectively staffed by a sole astronaut.
As a result, a successful launch of the Dragon spacecraft took place Friday morning (February 13), and just Saturday evening, the “reinforcements” reached orbit.
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