Liftoff Time |
August 1, 2025 – 15:43 UTC | 11:43 EDT |
|---|---|
Mission Name |
Crew-11 |
Launch Provider
|
SpaceX |
Customer
|
NASA, JAXA, Roscosmos |
Rocket |
Falcon 9 B1094-3; 37-day turnaround |
Launch Location |
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39), Kennedy Space Center, Florida |
Payload mass |
Unknown |
Where is the spacecraft going? |
International Space Station |
Where is the first stage landing? |
B1094 will land at Lanzing Zone 1 (LZ-1) |
This will be the: |
– 169th orbital launch of 2025 – 97th SpaceX mission of 2025 – 94th Falcon 9 mission of 2025 – 500th Falcon recovery attempt – 537th overall SpaceX mission -516 day turnaround for Dragon C206 – 6th flight for Dragon C206 (Endevour) |
What is Crew-11?
Crew-11 is the next launch in the Commercial Crew Program, a collaboration between Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Endevour, flying for the sixth time, will carry four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). This includes two NASA astronauts, one Japanese (JAXA) astronaut, and one Roscosmos astronaut.
Commanding the mission with the Zena Cardman alongside pilot Mike Finke. The eleventh operation crew mission will have two mission specialists consisting of Kimiya Yui from JAXA and Oleg Platanov of Roscosmos.
Earlier in the week, SpaceX auto-aborted a static fire of the Falcon 9 rocket at 57 seconds due to a ground sensor issues. A second attempt was successfully completed on Tuesday. Data review of the static fire led to a replacement of an engine controller on Merlin engine 5, NASA’s Steve Stich says during the prelaunch press conference.
Stich also added that Thursday’s attempt is the best shot before the weather along the ascent corridor detoriorates later in the week and weekend.
A first launch attempt was scrubbed at T-00:01:07 due to the cumulous cloud that barely violated the area around the launch pad during launch.
Meet the Crew
Commander Zena Cardman
Raised in Williamsburg, Virginia, Cardman holds degrees in biology and marine sciences from UNC-Chapel Hill. She wrote a poetry collection for her undergraduate thesis. Before joining NASA in 2017, she conducted field research in extreme environments like the Arctic, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and remote caves, focusing on microbial life in low-oxygen conditions.
Cardman is also a published poet and visual storyteller who sees parallels between exploration and artistic expression.
Pilot Mike Finke
Born March 14, 1967, in Pittsburgh (but raised in Emsworth, PA), Finke is a highly experienced NASA astronaut selected in 1996. He holds dual bachelor’s degrees from MIT in Aeronautics & Astronautics and Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences, a master’s in Aeronautics & Astronautics from Stanford (1990), and another in Planetary Geology from the University of Houston–Clear Lake (2001).
Fincke has completed three spaceflights. He was onboard Expedition 9 (2004), Expedition 18 (2008–09), and flew as a Mission Specialist on STS‑134 (2011).
In total, he has logged more than 381 days in orbit and completed nine spacewalks summing to 48 hrs 37 min.
Mission Specialist Kimiya Yuui
Born January 30, 1970, in Kawakami, Nagano, Japan, Yui is a veteran Japanese astronaut. After graduating from the National Defense Academy of Japan in 1992, he served as a pilot in the Japan Air Self‑Defense Force and flew F‑15 Eagles while he rose to lieutenant colonel before retiring in 2009 to join JAXA’s astronaut corps.
In 2015, Yui made his first spaceflight aboard Soyuz TMA‑17M as Flight Engineer for ISS Expeditions 44/45, spending approximately 142 days aboard the station.
Mission Specialist Oleg Platanov
Born on June 27, 1986 in Chelyabinsk, Russia, Platanov is a test cosmonaut selected in Roscosmos’ 17th group in 2018, after a distinguished career as a military pilot and aviation engineer. He earned an engineering degree from the Krasnodar Higher Military Aviation School in 2008 and later completed a bachelor’s in State and Municipal Management in Vladivostok in 2016.
Platonov was originally assigned to Soyuz MS‑25 for his first spaceflight, but later swapped flights under a seat‑swap agreement and joined Crew‑11.
Your Awesome Tim, From Hilo Hawaii, Hope to be in Space with you one day!