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Crew-11 Mission Cleared for Thursday Launch as U.S. and Russian Space Heads Prepare to Meet

With the transporter erector sensor fault fixed, Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon Endeavour are cleared for liftoff

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule sits atop a Falcon Nine rocket at Launch Complex 39A before NASA’s Crew-11 mission to the International Space Station, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., July 30, 2025. REUTERS/Steve Nesius
Astronauts, from left, Oleg Platonov, of Russia, Mike Fincke, of NASA, Zena Cardman, of NASA, and Kimiya Yui, of Japan wave to photographers as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla.
Astronauts, front row from left, Mike Fincke, of NASA, and Zena Cardman, of NASA, back row from left, Oleg Platonov, of Russia and Kimiya Yui, of Japan waves as they leave the Operations and Checkout Building for a trip the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-A and a planned liftoff on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Thursday, July 31, 2025, in Cape Canaveral , Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 crew members, Mission Specialist Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, Pilot Mike Fincke of U.S., Commander Zena Cardman of U.S., and Mission Specialist Kimiya Yui of Japan's JAXA, walk from the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center for transport to Launch Complex 39A ahead of their launch to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., July 31, 2025. REUTERS/Steve Nesius

Overview

  • A static fire test on July 29 auto-aborted at T-57 seconds due to a transporter erector cradle arm sensor error, with a successful retest on July 30
  • SpaceX replaced an engine controller on booster B1094’s engine five after anomalous data, completing all prelaunch checks at LC-39A
  • Crew-11 will lift off at 12:09 p.m. ET carrying NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, JAXA’s Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos’s Oleg Platonov for a six- to eight-month station mission
  • Docking with the ISS is scheduled around 3 a.m. EDT on August 2, followed by a brief handover and the Crew-10 departure on August 6
  • NASA acting administrator Sean Duffy and Roscosmos chief Dmitry Bakanov will attend the launch and discuss extending their seat-exchange agreement and planning the ISS deorbit in 2030