CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida – Maine’s most prominent astronaut is back in space, and she’s in charge.
Dr. Jessica Meir, a Caribou native, served as spacecraft commander as NASA and SpaceX launched the Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station early Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, sending four crew members to an orbiting lab that has been running well below normal staffing levels.
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 5:15 a.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying the crew aboard SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft.
The launch comes after a medical issue forced the previous station crew rotation to end early, an unusual disruption that left the ISS operating with just three people aboard since mid-January, far below the seven-person staffing level NASA typically targets. NASA has not disclosed details about the medical incident, citing privacy concerns.
Crew-12 is expected to spend eight to nine months on the station, restoring full operations and allowing deferred work, including spacewalk planning and research, to ramp back up.
A Maine commander in orbit
Meir’s role as commander puts a Maine native at the center of one of NASA’s most closely watched crew rotations in years. She is flying alongside NASA pilot Jack Hathaway, with European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev serving as mission specialists.
The crew’s mission will focus on long-duration science and station maintenance, including research in microgravity that NASA says supports future deep-space exploration — and includes experiments tied to medical and biological questions, such as studying bacteria and plant-microbe interactions.
Meir’s résumé: history-maker and Artemis pick
Meir is already a historic figure in U.S. spaceflight. In 2019, she participated in the first all-female spacewalk alongside NASA astronaut Christina Koch.
She’s also among the astronauts selected for NASA’s Artemis-era push, which is designed to return Americans to the Moon and build toward Mars, a credential that keeps her name in the mix for future high-profile missions.
The launch comes after a medical issue forced the previous station crew rotation to end early, an unusual disruption that left the ISS operating with just three people aboard since mid-January, far below the seven-person staffing level NASA typically targets. NASA has not disclosed details about the medical incident, citing privacy concerns.
Crew-12 is expected to spend eight to nine months on the station, restoring full operations and allowing deferred work, including spacewalk planning and research, to ramp back up.
A Maine commander in orbit
Meir’s role as commander puts a Maine native at the center of one of NASA’s most closely watched crew rotations in years. She is flying alongside NASA pilot Jack Hathaway, with European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev serving as mission specialists.
The crew’s mission will focus on long-duration science and station maintenance, including research in microgravity that NASA says supports future deep-space exploration, and includes experiments tied to medical and biological questions, such as studying bacteria and plant-microbe interactions.
Meir’s résumé: history-maker and Artemis pick
Meir is already a historic figure in U.S. spaceflight. In 2019, she participated in the first all-female spacewalk alongside NASA astronaut Christina Koch.
She’s also among the astronauts selected for NASA’s Artemis-era push, which is designed to return Americans to the Moon and build toward Mars, a credential that keeps her name in the mix for future high-profile missions.
