NASA and SpaceX have just completed a crucial dry dress rehearsal for the highly anticipated Crew-11 mission, bringing the launch one step closer to reality. On July 28, 2025, at Kennedy Space Center’s iconic Launch Complex 39A, astronauts Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Oleg Platonov went through the full launch-day experience—putting on their spacesuits, boarding the transport vehicle, ascending the launch tower elevator, and stepping inside the sleek Crew Dragon capsule. Every detail was rehearsed as if launch was happening right then.
Following this intense dress rehearsal, SpaceX rolled the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon back to the hangar to fine-tune last-minute preparations. The countdown clock is ticking toward liftoff, targeted for no earlier than 12:09 p.m. EDT on July 31, 2025, weather permitting.
Once in orbit, Crew-11 will dock at the International Space Station, overlapping briefly with the current Crew-10 astronauts—Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, and Kirill Peskov—to ensure a smooth handoff of vital station operations. Meanwhile, Crew-10 will prepare to return to Earth, with splashdown planned off California’s coast.
This rehearsal marks a major milestone on the path to an exciting mission filled with groundbreaking research, international collaboration, and continued exploration aboard the ISS. The countdown to Crew-11 is truly underway.
