ISS Crew Rotation: SpaceX Launches Crew-10 Mission to International Space Station

February 15, 2026

SpaceX successfully launched the Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) early Saturday morning from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 1:03 a.m. EST (06:03 UTC), carrying four astronauts for a six-month science expedition aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft, named Endeavour, separated from the Falcon 9 upper stage approximately 12 minutes after launch and is on track for an autonomous docking with the ISS Harmony module on Sunday at approximately 5:00 a.m. EST. The mission marks the tenth crewed flight under NASA's Commercial Crew Program and the fourth rotation mission for the current ISS expedition.

Crew-10 Astronauts

• Anne McClain (NASA) – Mission commander, veteran astronaut on her second spaceflight
• Nichole Ayers (NASA) – Pilot, first spaceflight
• Takuya Onishi (JAXA) – Mission specialist, veteran of two previous long-duration ISS missions
• Kirill Peskov (Roscosmos) – Mission specialist, first spaceflight

The crew will join the seven-member Expedition 72/73 team already aboard the station: NASA astronauts Don Pettit, Sunita Williams, Butch Wilmore, and Nick Hague; Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner; and JAXA astronaut Kimiya Yui.

Mission Objectives

During their approximately six-month stay, the Crew-10 astronauts will conduct more than 200 scientific experiments and technology demonstrations focused on:

• Human health in long-duration spaceflight
• Advanced materials and manufacturing in microgravity
• Earth observation and climate monitoring
• Biological and physical sciences
• Preparation for future Artemis lunar missions and Mars exploration

The mission also includes several spacewalks to install new solar array hardware, upgrade external payloads, and prepare the station for the arrival of new commercial modules in the coming years.

Flight Milestones

• Liftoff: February 15, 2026, 1:03 a.m. EST
• Stage separation and booster landing: Approximately 8.5 minutes after launch (booster successfully landed on droneship Just Read the Instructions)
• Crew Dragon docking with ISS: Expected February 16, ~5:00 a.m. EST
• Hatch opening and welcome ceremony: Shortly after docking

This is the 14th crewed orbital flight for SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft and the 15th reuse of the Falcon 9 first stage booster (B1083). The Crew-9 astronauts, who have been aboard the station since September 2025, are expected to return to Earth in late February or early March aboard their Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft.

Live coverage of the docking and hatch opening will be available on NASA TV, SpaceX's YouTube channel, and various international partner broadcast streams. The mission is part of NASA's ongoing effort to maintain continuous human presence aboard the ISS until at least 2030 while transitioning to commercial space stations in low Earth orbit.