SpaceX's next astronaut launch for NASA is set for Feb. 11 after FAA clears Falcon 9

The FAA approved SpaceX's Falcon 9 to resume flights after an upper-stage issue, and NASA's Crew-12 launch is scheduled for Feb. 11 from Cape Canaveral.

SpaceX and NASA are preparing to launch the Crew-12 astronaut mission after the Federal Aviation Administration authorized the Falcon 9 to return to flight. The FAA ended a four-day grounding that followed an upper-stage problem during a Feb. 2 Starlink mission. The Crew-12 launch is scheduled for 6:01 a.m. EST (1101 GMT) on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The crew will travel aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule Freedom for a mission of roughly nine months. Known details: - The FAA announced on Feb. 6 that it oversaw and accepted the findings of a SpaceX-led investigation and cleared Falcon 9 to resume flights. - The final mishap report cited the probable root cause as a failure of the Falcon 9 second-stage engine to ignite prior to the planned deorbit burn, reported by the FAA. - SpaceX identified technical and organizational measures it says are intended to prevent a recurrence, and those measures were accepted as part of the return-to-flight decision. - The Crew-12 manifest lists four astronauts: NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot. - The ISS has been staffed by three crew members since Jan. 15, after the Crew-11 crew returned early in what NASA described as a medical evacuation; NASA has not identified the astronaut or released medical details. Summary: The FAA accepted SpaceX's investigation findings and authorized Falcon 9 to fly again, allowing preparations for the Feb. 11 Crew-12 launch to proceed. If the launch occurs as scheduled, the four-person Crew-12 team will travel to the International Space Station aboard Crew Dragon Freedom and return the station to a seven-member crew for about nine months. Further operational checks and routine launch processing were reported as part of SpaceX's response to the upper-stage issue.