SpaceX has achieved another milestone with the successful launch of its 11th operational human spaceflight mission for NASA. The mission, known as Crew-11, was launched on Friday, August 1, at 11:43 a.m. ET from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket carried a Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS).
After stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage performed a precise landing on Landing Zone 1 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, showcasing SpaceX’s continued success in booster recovery efforts.
The Dragon spacecraft is set to autonomously dock with the ISS at around 3:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 2. Viewers can watch the live webcast of the docking on SpaceX’s official website and the X TV app, as well as on X @SpaceX. The Dragon capsule, which has previously flown on several missions, including Demo-2, Crew-2, Ax-1, Crew-6, and Crew-8, is carrying Commander Zena Cardman, Pilot Michael Fincke, and Mission Specialists Kimiya Yui and Oleg Platonov. The crew will be conducting advanced research to support human exploration beyond low Earth orbit and enhance life on Earth.
Crew-11 is part of a $1.5 billion contract awarded to SpaceX by NASA in 2022 for five missions, including Crew-10, which is set to return later this month, as well as future missions Crew-12, Crew-13, and Crew-14. This launch comes on the heels of SpaceX’s successful AX-4 mission to the ISS last month, conducted in collaboration with Axiom Space. With each successful mission, SpaceX continues to solidify its position as a key player in modern spaceflight and NASA’s preferred partner for crewed missions to the ISS.