Watch NASA SpaceX Crew-12 launch: mission to ISS is go

Launch successful

Well, with some stunning live footage – which will have members of the Flat Earth Society scratching their heads – we have watched a seemingly perfect arrival into orbit.

Beautifully prepared messages have been read and everyone is feeling good right about now. Next stop: the ISS... which is about 34 hours away.

Four crew members ready for orbit

NASA astronauts Jessica Meir, commander, and Jack Hathaway, pilot, will fly alongside ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev aboard Dragon for an eight-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

The quartet has been in quarantine at NASA's Kennedy Space Center since Feb. 6, preparing for SpaceX’s 12th crew rotation flight to the station and the 13th crewed mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Eyes on the sky and the flight path

While conditions at the launch site are largely favorable, mission teams continue to track elevated winds along the Atlantic Coast in Crew-12's ascent corridor. Those winds prompted earlier adjustments from the original Feb. 11 target.

The weather forecast remains 85% “go” at Cape Canaveral as managers monitor cloud development and upper-level conditions ahead of today's launch opportunity.

Launch Readiness Review complete

Teams from NASA and SpaceX have polled “go” for the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station, clearing the way to enter the launch countdown pending weather along the ascent corridor.

Liftoff remains targeted for no earlier than 5:15 a.m. EST (UTC-5) today, Friday, Feb. 13, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket.

Weather at the pad is currently 85% favorable, with cumulus clouds the primary watch item.