- Four new astronauts arrived at the ISS, restoring full crew strength after health-related early returns
- SpaceX launched US, French, and Russian astronauts from Cape Canaveral to the space station
- NASA paused spacewalks and reduced research due to a reduced crew after last month’s medical evacuation
The International Space Station returned to full strength with Saturday's arrival of four new astronauts to replace colleagues who bailed early because of health concerns.
SpaceX delivered the US, French and Russian astronauts a day after launching them from Cape Canaveral.
Last month's medical evacuation was NASA's first in 65 years of human spaceflight. One of four astronauts launched by SpaceX last summer suffered what officials described as a serious health issue, prompting their hasty return. That left only three crew members to keep the place running - one American and two Russians - prompting NASA to pause spacewalks and trim research.
Moving in for eight to nine months are NASA's Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France's Sophie Adenot and Russia's Andrei Fedyaev. Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have lived up there before. During her first station visit in 2019, Meir took part in the first all-female spacewalk.
Hatches open! Four @SpaceX Crew-12 crew members have entered the station and joined Expedition 74 to begin a long-duration space research mission. More... https://t.co/1329gppIO1 pic.twitter.com/q7khFP9TKW
— International Space Station (@Space_Station) February 14, 2026
Adenot, a military helicopter pilot, is only the second French woman to fly in space. Hathaway is a captain in the US Navy.
"Bonjour!" Adenot called out once the capsule docked to the space station 277 miles (446 kilometers) up.
A couple of hours later, the hatches swung open and the seven space travelers hugged and exchanged exuberant high-fives. "Let's get rolling," Meir said.
NASA has refused to divulge the identity of the astronaut who fell ill in orbit on January 7 or explain what happened, citing medical privacy. The ailing astronaut and three others returned to Earth more than a month sooner than planned. They spent their first night back on Earth at the hospital before returning to Houston.
Dragon is docked with @Space_Station
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 14, 2026
pic.twitter.com/nrX1aDJsBz
The space agency said it did not alter its preflight medical checks for their replacements.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
