Mission Summary: Crew-11

Launch Details

8/1/25 11:43am EST from LC-39A

Zena Cardman, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, Oleg Platonov

6 months aboard ISS

NASA/SpaceX

And just like that, another crew lifts off to the International Space Station! After a scrub due to weather the day before, the 11^th rotational and international crew launched from LC-39A on August 1, 2025, at 11:43am EST. This served as the 6^th launch of crew Dragon Endeavor. I went on a solo mission, while Rosie supported me from Arizona, so I had the unique opportunity of attending and capturing each event of Crew-11 launch activities!

Launch week is action packed and full of activities to prepare for liftoff. The rundown of events officially started on Saturday, July 26^th when Zena, Mike, Kimiya and Oleg departed Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX in route for arrival at Kennedy Space Center Launch and Landing Facility a few hours later. Upon touchdown, the crew is met by members of the media for photos and a quick Q&A session. After this, they head off to quarantine and final preps for launch day. After flying into Orlando Tuesday night, I made the quick drive over to Cocoa Beach where I was able to catch the SpaceX Starlink 10-29 launch at 11:37pm from SLC-40. It’s always cool to see night turn into day with an artificial rocket sunrise. Talk about a way to get excited for the days ahead!

On Wednesday, members of the media had an exclusive bonus opportunity of having 30 minutes with the Artemis II crew. They were in town participating in a suited crew test and crew equipment interface test in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) where they entered their Orion spacecraft for the first time. As expected, the press site was full for this one! Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy provided us with a quick mission update and then opened the floor for questions. There was a fantastic discussion of mission elements and acknowledgment of the impact the upcoming 2026 budget cuts is having. The next day former astronaut and US Senator of Arizona, Mark Kelly, stated in a social media video from inside the VAB that Artemis II is now accelerating and targeting a launch in February 2026 instead of April. Spoiler alert?!

After a successful static fire of the vehicle the count could proceed with the first launch attempt on Thursday July 31^st. The day started very early with the much-anticipated crew walkout that occurs about 3 hours prior to launch. The buses loaded up around 7am and took us over to Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building to get set up where the iconic astronaut walkout takes place. With this being my first experience capturing this event, the imposter syndrome kicks in quickly, especially when surrounded by prominent spaceflight photographers. Luckily, there isn’t much time to focus on that since not long after arriving we’re standing in place with cameras ready to snap the crew suited up and walking out to load up into the Tesla crew transport vehicles that take them to their ride to space. After the crew support ninjas fist bump, the double doors swing open to Mike, Zena, Kimiya, and Oleg’s smiling faces ready for their photo op. After many waves and a few heart hands in our direction, each astronaut walks over to a designated area where their family is waiting with well wishes and goodbyes. As a history nerd and lifelong spaceflight supporter, the weight and intimacy of this moment was not lost on me. I was struck by how calm yet emotional those moments are. It was an honor and privilege to be behind the camera capturing this. NASA leadership and astronaut crew support were also in attendance. Acting associate administrator Vanessa Wyche and acting administrator Sean Duffy were from the agency while I also spotted active NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins as Zena’s family support and Frank Rubio similarly for Mike. The SpaceX ninjas got the crew seated in the aptly named Live, Laugh, Launch Tesla’s and off they went.

Image Credit: Laura Holt

Once back at the press site, the next 3 hours provides time to get some lunch, review those walkout images and prep equipment for T-0. Due to the late July summer heat, I waited until 20 minutes left in the count to go stake my position outside on the press site lawn between the flagpole and countdown clock. Unfortunately, in those 20 minutes, we watched a storm cloud roll over the VAB headed directly towards pad 39A. A few minutes till, we heard the loudspeaker announce a phase 1 lightning warning. This is where hopes started dwindling and at one minute seven seconds the clock stopped. When the clock stops, that’s when you know, it’s a no-go! Not too surprised, attempt one was a scrub. Once back inside and packing up for the day the thunder, rain, and lightning unleashed. The storms were no joke that day.

Crewed launches are a lot like Groundhog’s Day…we rinse and repeat. Friday August 1^st started bright and early with a gorgeous sunrise over the turn basin and 39A while waiting for the bus to take us over to crew walkout again. Behind the scenes, the mood was low as most expected launch would scrub at any moment due to the high probability of violation put out by the Space Launch Delta 45^th weather squadron. Personally, I felt pretty good about this day and ignored the skeptics. As expected, there weren’t as many attendees and the mood was quiet. This provided a second chance to focus on shots I didn’t get the day prior with less pressure on myself. For being a newbie, I’m very proud of what I got! Back at the press site and the countdown continuing, we all began preps for launch. At T-15 minutes I geared up and headed back out onto the lawn. Once again, we saw dark storm clouds approaching. There were experienced members of the media outwardly stating “There’s no way it’s going” so we were waiting around for imminent announcements similar to Thursday. Very much to our surprise, the clock hit under one minute and that’s when it gets real! The launch director calls go for launch, and we frantically get into place preparing for ignition. There is a collective countdown that begins at T-10 seconds and then you see ignition and liftoff but don’t hear anything until about 10 seconds into flight once the sound travels the approximately 3 miles to the press site. This launch was LOUD! I’ve seen many launches but was struck by the roaring sounds of Falcon 9’s 9 Merlin engines soaring into the sky and hearing the distinct VAB squeal behind me. The adrenaline is pumping! We watched Dragon Endeavor rise above the clouds and hit Max-Q and then MECO on their way to the International Space Station. Talking to those around me, we all felt the sound was much more intense than usual. It had to have been due to the atmospheric conditions and low hanging, thick clouds in the area. Minutes later, B1094 quickly descended towards landing zone 1, only appearing above the tree line for a few seconds before deploying landing legs and successfully touching down for another RTLS. Due to that weather, the sonic boom was interestingly dispersed too. What typically is a very loud singular BOOM sounded more like distant rumbles of thunder. Also of note, after 10 years, this was the final booster landing on LZ-1. LZ-2 will continue to be operational while SpaceX builds additional landing zones over at 39A.

Image Credit: Laura Holt

After each successful launch, media are invited to attend a post launch news conference with various agency members. The panel included NASA’s Ken Bowersox, Steve Stich, Dana Weigel, Kazuyoshi Kawasaki of JAXA, and SpaceX’s Sarah Walker. After a launch and mission update, the teams answered various questions about potential celebrations for the upcoming 25^th anniversary of the ISS, decommission update, and what the future of crewed missions will look like.

With all launch activities complete it was time to pack up and get some rest! We’re learning that covering launches typically results in long, hard, and usually hot days. Even so, it’s a thrilling experience that I wouldn’t trade and feel incredibly lucky to have covered. In such a dynamic time of instability and regression, be reminded that spaceflight unites and progresses us further in the pursuit of a better future. At the time of this article Crew-11 is currently docked to the ISS and Crew-10 has returned to Earth. Check out my shots of Crew-11 in the gallery here! Until the next one🚀💖💫