MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – NASA and SpaceX are gearing up for another milestone moment as they prepare to launch the Crew‑11 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) this Thursday. This mission marks the next exciting chapter in their partnership to support long-duration human spaceflight and cutting-edge research in low-Earth orbit.
FOX 35 News will provide live updates on the launch below. We will stream the launch live using the video player at the top of this page.
Crew-11 boards SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft
9:47 a.m. | The crew has completed communication checks and rotated their seats for launch, while SpaceX’s pad team prepares to close the hatch—marking the last Earthbound faces the astronauts will see until splashdown at the end of their mission.
9:24 a.m. | Crew-11 astronauts have boarded SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft. They arrived at Launch Complex 39A shortly after 9 a.m.
Before boarding their spacecraft, all four crew members signed the interior wall of the “White Room”—an area at the end of the crew access arm that provides access to the spacecraft. The name “White Room” dates back to NASA’s Gemini era.
When and where is the launch?
What we know:
Liftoff is set for Thursday, July 31, 2025, at 12:09 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Crew-11 will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a four-person international team toward a six-month mission aboard the ISS.
Meet the Crew
Commander: Zena Cardman (NASA)
Pilot: Mike Fincke (NASA)
Mission Specialist: Kimiya Yui (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency)
Mission Specialist: Oleg Platonov (Roscosmos)
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA – JULY 31: Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, Jaxa astronaut Kimiya Yui, NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, and NASA astronaut Zena Cardman depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Control Building at the Kennedy Space Center for
What is the purpose of the Crew-11 mission?
Big picture view:
Once aboard the ISS, the team will spend about six months conducting scientific experiments, running technology demos, and preparing for future exploration — including the Moon and beyond. Their work supports both life on Earth and future human missions into deep space.
Crew-11 is the 11th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and its 12th flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by NASA and SpaceX.
