SpaceX Successfully Launches Crew-12 to ISS, Marks First Falcon 9 Landing at New LZ-40 Pad

SpaceX kicked off the day with a milestone astronaut launch and a first for its Florida recovery operations, as the Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew-12 mission lifted off early Friday and then completed the first booster landing at the company’s newly commissioned Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at 5:15 a.m. EST, successfully placing SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom into orbit with four astronauts aboard. The Crew-12 team, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, is bound for the International Space Station (ISS).

Falcon 9 launches @NASA’s Crew-12, Dragon’s 20th human spaceflight mission pic.twitter.com/d3pEI23S5z

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 13, 2026

Shortly after stage separation, the Falcon 9’s first stage successfully returned to Earth and completed the first landing at LZ-40, a new landing pad built adjacent to the launch complex. The development brings SpaceX’s launch and landing operations closer together, reducing booster transport time and streamlining post-flight processing.

Crew-12 is scheduled to dock at the ISS on Feb. 14, beginning an approximately eight-month mission as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Once aboard the station, the crew will join other Expedition team members to conduct scientific research and operations in microgravity.

The shift of crewed Falcon 9 launches to SLC-40, previously centered at NASA’s Launch Complex 39A, reflects continued evolution in SpaceX’s operations. With 39A increasingly reserved for Falcon Heavy and future Starship flights, SLC-40 is becoming the primary site for Falcon 9 missions supporting both NASA and commercial objectives.

By combining launch and landing pads at Cape Canaveral, SpaceX is expected to improve overall mission efficiency while maintaining high reliability for human spaceflight missions like Crew-12.

Falcon 9 has landed, completing our first landing at LZ-40! pic.twitter.com/PZXeOYdbaN

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 13, 2026