NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 mission launched successfully on Friday, August 1, 2025, at 11:43 a.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft are four astronauts: Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke from NASA, Kimiya Yui from JAXA, and Oleg Platonov from Roscosmos. This marks the eleventh crew rotation mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Dragon capsule will autonomously dock with the space-facing port of the ISS’s Harmony module around 3 a.m. on August 2. After docking, the astronauts will begin their six-month science expedition, working alongside seven crew members already on board. This will temporarily increase the space station’s population to 11.
During the mission, Crew-11 will conduct a range of experiments—from lunar landing simulations and human stem cell production to research on vision protection, plant cell division, and space-adapted viruses. These studies are key to preparing for future long-duration space missions, including NASA’s Artemis Moon program and eventual Mars exploration.
NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy praised the mission as a step toward a permanent presence on the Moon, crediting U.S. leadership and innovation in space exploration. The agency continues to collaborate with private partners like SpaceX to advance its Commercial Crew and Artemis missions. NASA will provide live coverage of docking and the crew’s welcome ceremony on NASA+ starting at 1 a.m. EDT, August 2.
