Published on: 02/13/2026 - 06:52 Modified on: 02/13/2026 - 14:32
After months of preparation and two last-minute postponements, Frenchwoman Sophie Adenot and the three other Crew-12 astronauts took off without incident on Friday to join the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is expected to last between eight and nine months. Watch the live follow-up of the takeoff of the SpaceX rocket.
After a postponement due to bad weather conditions, French astronaut Sophie Adenot took off on Friday February 13 at 11:15 a.m. (Paris time) from Cape Canaveral, Florida, towards the International Space Station (ISS).
The takeoff of the Space
Sophie Adenot, a 43-year-old engineer by training, becomes the second French woman in history to fly into space, after the pioneer Claudie Haigneré in 1996 and 2001, who inspired her.
She is accompanied by two American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut for the trip to the station where there are already two other Russians and an American. During the eight to nine months of the mission, she will participate in more than 200 scientific experiments.
“Let’s dare to dream bigger”
French astronaut Sophie Adenot is due to join the International Space Station with her three comrades around 8:15 p.m. GMT on Saturday for an eight to nine month mission called Crew-12.
Thank you all for following this live broadcast with us dedicated to this successful takeoff!
The reaction of General Jérôme Bellanger, Chief of Staff of the Air and Space Force
🚀🇫🇷 She’s gone!
Takeoff of the SpaceX rocket to the ISS: “it’s a family adventure”
“It’s a family adventure”: astronaut Raphaël Liégeois explains to us the steps of the procedures, the working conditions in space, and the future of the international space station, live from the Cité des sciences in Paris.
Congratulations from the Minister of the Armed Forces
Successful takeoff to the ISS: four astronauts in flight for 30 hours
Four astronauts, including two Americans, a Russian and Frenchwoman Sophie Adenot, the first in space in 25 years, flew to the International Space Station for a journey of more than 30 hours. Our reporter Sylvain Rousseau on site, at Cape Canaveral in the United States, takes stock.
CNES welcomes this successful takeoff
Relive the takeoff of French astronaut Sophie Adenot
Astronaut Sophie Adenot ready to conduct more than two hundred experiments in space
“Let’s dare to dream big together” launched Sophie Adenot
Speaking in English during a live broadcast of the launch by NASA, the astronaut said: "let's take care of each other, let's dare to dream big together and let's continue to aim ever higher. This is how humanity progresses."
New photos of the takeoff taken from Cape Canaveral
Sophie Adenot celebrates her arrival in space with the other members of the crew
Images of the launch by CNES
The separation of the Dragon capsule
The top of the rocket is self-contained. The crew is now in orbit.
A successful takeoff
The two-stage Falcon 9 rocket, topped with an autonomously operating Crew Dragon capsule called Freedom, was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Station along Florida's Atlantic coast at 5:15 a.m. US East Coast Time (10:15 a.m. GMT).
The broadcast showed the 25-story vehicle rising from the launch tower as its nine Merlin engines roared, gulping down the equivalent of about 2,650 (700,000 gallons) liters of fuel per second, emitting clouds of steam and a reddish fireball that lit up the predawn sky.
A photo of the takeoff released by NASA
A photo of the takeoff released by the European Space Agency
A first image of the crew since takeoff
They are now weightless.
Sophie Adenot is now in space
The SpaceX rocket has just taken off towards the ISS from Cape Canaveral!
With AFP
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