Endeavour's epic return: SpaceX’s Crew-11 prepares for launch to International Space Station

Elon Musk's SpaceX has been working tirelessly to enable humanity to explore the moon, Mars, and deep space for years. From reusable rockets to the Starlink satellite infrastructure to its 500-plus completed missions, SpaceX, in partnership with NASA, has brought space exploration within reach like never before.

NASA's upcoming launch to the International Space Station this week will further these goals.

This will be both Cardman's and Platonov's first spaceflight.

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 is preparing to launch its mission to the International Space Station. The crew will be boarding a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft called Endeavour, which has previously flown several missions, including Demo-2, Crew-2, Crew-6, Crew-8, and a private mission called Axiom Mission 1.

Crew-11 will lift off no earlier than 12:09 p.m. ET on Thursday. They will be launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX's website notes that there is a backup opportunity for launch on Friday, August 1, at 11:43 a.m. ET.

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  Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images

Among the four crew members are NASA astronauts Mike Fincke and Zena Cardman. Joining them are Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Kimiya Yui and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov.

This will be both Cardman's and Platonov's first spaceflight.

The four new arrivals will begin a seven-month mission to perform research, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the orbiting laboratory. They will also participate in NASA's Artemis campaign by performing simulations of lunar landings to contribute to research for future lunar and deep space missions.

Specifically, their contribution appears to further the task of Artemis III, which, according to NASA's website, "will be one of the most complex undertakings of engineering and human ingenuity in the history of deep space exploration, exploring the lunar South Pole region." The manned lunar landing is slated to launch mid-year 2027 with a four-man crew over the span of 30 days.

The seven-member team currently aboard the International Space Station, Expedition 73, will welcome Crew-11 to the station. Four of the current crew members who have been working on the ISS since March are expected to disembark shortly after Crew-11's arrival.

SpaceX is also set to launch 19 Starlink satellites from Space Launch Complex 4 East at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Thursday.

SpaceX and NASA did not respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

Watch the livestream video of the launch on X here.

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