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SpaceX Crew-11 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of launch to space station

four people in blue flight suits stand on a tarmac in front of a small jet aircraft

The members of SpaceX's Crew 11 arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, July 26, 2025, ahead of their scheduled launch to the International Space Station. From left to right: Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke of NASA; Kimiya Yui of JAXA; and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos. (Image credit: NASA)

The next four people to launch to the International Space Station have arrived at their launch site.

NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, together with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov flew on a NASA aircraft from Ellington Field in Houston, Texas to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida on Saturday (July 26). They touched down at Space Florida's Launch and Landing Facility (LLF) at 1:12 p.m. EDT (1712) GMT.

"We are absolutely joyed to be here at Kennedy Space Center," said Cardman, Crew-11 commander. "This is the first moment when it's really starting to feel real. This is the beginning of a week when things will feel progressively more and more real as we approach our launch."

four people in blue flight suits walk on a tarmac toward a microphone stand

Cardman, Fincke, Yui and Platonov are scheduled to launch as the members of SpaceX's Crew-11 aboard the Dragon "Endeavour" on a Falcon 9 rocket from KSC's Launch Complex 39A on Thursday (July 31) at 12:09 p.m. EDT (1609 GMT). Should the flight go as planned, they will dock to the orbiting laboratory next Saturday (Aug. 2) to join the station's Expedition 73 (and later Expedition 74) crew.

"Boy, it's great to be back," said Fincke, Crew-11 pilot." "One of the last times I landed on the at the [LLF] was on space shuttle Endeavour, and now we get to go on another endeavor, a Dragon Endeavour, this time."

On Friday, mission managers gave their “go” for launch preparations to proceed after concluding a flight readiness review.

"We're looking forward to launching soon," said Fincke.

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Robert Pearlman is a space historian, journalist and the founder and editor of collectSPACE.com, a daily news publication and community devoted to space history with a particular focus on how and where space exploration intersects with pop culture. Pearlman is also a contributing writer for Space.com and co-author of "Space Stations: The Art, Science, and Reality of Working in Space” published by Smithsonian Books in 2018.In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Space Camp Hall of Fame in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2021, he was honored by the American Astronautical Society with the Ordway Award for Sustained Excellence in Spaceflight History. In 2023, the National Space Club Florida Committee recognized Pearlman with the Kolcum News and Communications Award for excellence in telling the space story along the Space Coast and throughout the world.

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