Astronauts arrive at ISS after early crew departure due to medical issues

Four new astronauts arrived at the International Space Station on Saturday, bringing the laboratory back to full capacity after several colleagues had to leave early last month due to a medical issue.

The U.S., French and Russian astronauts and cosmonauts launched from Cape Canaveral on a SpaceX rocket on Friday for the nearly 34-hour journey.

“It was a pretty fun ride,” NASA Commander Jessica Meir said after the launch, according to BBC News. “We abandoned the Earth, but the Earth did not abandon us.”

The launch had previously been postponed twice due to weather concerns.

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Joining Meir on the Space Station for the next eight to nine months are NASA astronaut Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrei Fedyaev.

Meir, a marine biologist, and Fedyaev, a former military pilot, have been to the ISS before. Meir was also part of the first all-female spacewalk in 2019.

Astronauts spoke after arriving at the ISS on Saturday. (NASA)

Adenot is a military helicopter pilot and Hathaway is a captain in the US Navy.

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After astronauts arrived at the space station on Saturday. (NASA)

Adenot is only the second French woman in space.

“It will take approximately 34 hours for the spacecraft to autonomously dock with the space station’s Harmony module at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, February 14, while orbiting Earth at 17,000 mph,” NASA said in a statement after Friday’s launch. he said.

Crew 12 mission astronauts: Pilot Jack Hathaway, Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, Commander Jessica Meir and ESA astronaut Sophie Adenot of France leave the Operations and Control building before heading to their launch on Friday. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

“Absolutely a great start to the day,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said after the launch. “This mission demonstrated in many ways what it means to be mission-focused at NASA.”

“Over the last few weeks, we’ve brought Crew-11 home early, pushed Crew-12 to today’s launch date, and also made preparations for the Artemis 2 mission, whose next window opens in early March,” he added.

According to NASA, “This flight is the 12th crew rotation to the orbiting laboratory with SpaceX under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Crew-12 will prepare humans for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as conduct scientific research and technology demonstrations to benefit people on Earth.”

NASA said that the capsule’s lid opened at 16.14 after docking with the space station.

“We’re very excited to be here and start working,” Meir said after the crew arrived Saturday.

Adenot added: “When we first looked at the Earth it was mind-blowing. … We saw no lines, no boundaries.”

Before Saturday’s crew arrived, only one American and two Russians remained on the space station, ensuring it remained operational.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches from Cape Canaveral on Friday bound for the International Space Station. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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The medical evacuation in January was the first in 65 years after NASA said a crew member suffered a serious medical condition. The space agency did not disclose the nature of the medical condition or the astronaut’s name, citing medical privacy.

The astronaut carrying the medical emergency and the three other crew members who departed with them returned to Earth more than a month after the decision was made to bring them home.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.