BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – In Houston this Friday afternoon, the astronauts scheduled for the next journey to the International Space Station will address the public in a news conference. This event is highly anticipated as it sets the stage for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission, which is tentatively slated for launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on February 15th. However, NASA is in discussions with SpaceX and international collaborators to possibly bring forward this launch date.

Leading this mission is NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, serving as the Crew-12 commander, with Jack Hathaway as the pilot. They will be joined by mission specialists Sophie Adenot from the European Space Agency and Andrey Fedyaev from Roscosmos. The team will share their insights and expectations from NASA’s Johnson Space Center at 1 p.m. on Friday. Following their public remarks, the crew will head to Florida to begin launch preparations.

Prior to this, at 11 a.m., NASA will host another press briefing to provide further details about the Crew-12 mission. These discussions will elaborate on the mission’s objectives and logistics, offering a deeper look into this next chapter of space exploration.

Interest in the upcoming mission is heightened by the recent swift return and successful splashdown of Crew-11. Their mission was unexpectedly abbreviated due to an undisclosed medical concern involving one of the astronauts. The successful handling of that situation sets a hopeful tone for the Crew-12 mission as it prepares to embark on its journey.

Crew-12 mission details will be discussed during an earlier NASA news conference on Friday, at 11 a.m.

The upcoming launch comes after the hasty return and successful splashdown of Crew-11, who had their mission cut short this month in light of an unidentified astronaut’s non-specified medical issue.

News 6 will plan to stream the news conferences live at the top of this story.