NASA and its international partners held a prelaunch news conference today, February 9, 2026, to preview the upcoming SpaceX Crew-12 mission. The mission, which is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, will transport a new team of astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) to continue critical scientific research. 

articipants in the conference included managers from NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and SpaceX, who confirmed that all systems are trending toward a successful launch. This mission continues the frequent rotation of international crews to the ISS, ensuring the station remains a hub for global scientific collaboration. It also underscores the growing reliability of private-public partnerships in maintaining humanity’s presence in low Earth orbit.