SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket, topped with the Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft launched from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center(KSC) on Aug. 1, at 15:43 UTC. Falcon 9's first stage booster(B1094), returned to Landing Zone 1 (LZ-1) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, adjacent to KSC, about eight minutes after liftoff; while the Dragon spacecraft separated from the second stage and began its journey to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying 4 Crew-11 astronauts.

The four astronauts aboard are headed to the International Space Station (ISS) for a roughly six-month mission. The Crew-11 team consists of NASA astronauts Zena Cardman (mission commander) and Mike Fincke (pilot), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Kimiya Yui, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Platonov, both mission specialists. This is Cardman’s and Platonov’s first spaceflight, while Fincke is on his fourth mission and Yui his second, having previously spent 142 days on the ISS in 2015.

Cardman was originally slated for the Crew-9 mission but was reassigned due to that mission launching with only two astronauts to accommodate the return of NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams. Their Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which launched in June 2024, faced propulsion issues, leaving them without a dedicated return ride.

After Endeavor docks with the ISS, scheduled for 0700 UTC 3 on August 2, Crew-11 will relieve the Crew-10 astronauts, who launched in March 2025. The two crews will overlap for about a week to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities, including science experiments and station operations. Crew-10 will then return to Earth aboard their Crew Dragon spacecraft.

Crew-11’s mission includes conducting experiments such as simulating lunar landings, studying plant cell division in microgravity, protecting astronaut eyesight, and producing human stem cells and nutrients on-demand. These experiments aim to advance scientific knowledge and support future space exploration.

NASA is considering extending Crew Dragon missions, including Crew-11, from six to eight months, according to ISS Program Manager Dana Weigel. This potential extension is under review to optimize mission objectives and station operations.

During their stay, Crew-11 will also witness the arrival of the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 mission in November 2025, carrying NASA astronaut Chris Williams and two cosmonauts, as well as a Northrop Grumman resupply spacecraft. These events will support the ISS’s continuous operations and resource needs.

Crew-11 is SpaceX’s eleventh operational mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, which also included Boeing’s Starliner Crew Flight Test in June 2024, making it the twelfth flight overall. The program reflects NASA’s strategy to partner with private companies to maintain a consistent human presence on the ISS. This is also SpaceX Dragon's 19th human spaceflight mission.

Today's Falcon 9 first stage landing Zone, LZ-1, located at Launch Complex 13, will be leased to private companies Phantom Space and Vaya Space, as announced by the U.S. Space Force in March 2023. SpaceX can still request landing zone capabilities at its own launch complexes, subject to an extensive evaluation process, and continues to operate another landing site, Landing Zone 2, at the Cape.

Crew-11 launch was delayed by a day due to a scrub on July 31 caused by intruding clouds with just a minute left in the countdown.

President Donald Trump reportedly told a Jewish donor that "my people are starting to hate Israel," reflecting growing discontent within his MAGA base over the U.S. support for Israel's actions in Gaza.

This sentiment is echoed by popular conservative commentators like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who have criticized the Israeli military's actions in Gaza, including the killing of Christians.

Carlson has criticized the U.S. support for Israel and has called for stripping citizenship from Americans who served in the Israeli army and accused Jeffrey Epstein of Mossad ties. He has also criticized the Trump administration for deporting pro-Palestinian students.

Owens has criticized the U.S. support for Israel and has accused the Trump administration of not doing enough to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling it a genocide. She has also criticized the deportation of pro-Palestinian students.

Greene has consistently criticized Israel's actions in Gaza and has called the conflict a genocide. She has also criticized the U.S. military aid to Israel and has urged Congress to stop funding foreign wars.

In a lengthy post Thursday, Greene said he spoke to a Christian pastor about the starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and persecution of Christians in Israel.

"Yesterday I spoke to a Christian pastor from Gaza. There are children starving," Greene wrote. "And Christians have been killed and injured, as well as many innocent people. If you are an American Christian, this should be absolutely unacceptable to you. Just as we said that Hamas killing and kidnapping innocent people on Oct 7th is absolutely unacceptable.

"Are innocent Israeli lives more valuable than innocent  Palestinian and Christian lives? And why should America continue funding this? The secular government of nuclear armed Israel has proven that they are beyond capable of dealing with their enemies and are capable  of and are in the process of systematically cleansing them from the land.

"Most Americans that I know don’t hate Israel and we are not antisemitic at all. We are beyond fed up with being told that we have to fix the world’s problems, pay for the world’s problems, and fight all the world’s wars while Americans are struggling to survive even though they work everyday. And many of us, even though we are Christians, no longer want to fund and fight nuclear armed secular Israel’s wars especially when it leads to starving children and killing innocent people including Christians.

"Of course we are against radical Islamic terrorism, but we are also against genocide. You see.. When you have worked your entire life, and will only receive a $1,000 Social Security check, but noncitizens were given $3,500 and more, you are pissed off.

"When you have worked your entire life, and all your elected federal officials have recklessly spent and sent your hard earned money to every foreign country and every foreign war and NGO to the point we are almost $40 TRILLION in debt and inflation has caused life to be unaffordable, you are pissed off. When you have worked your entire life, and your elected federal government officials refuse to fix the absurd problems that makes all insurance unaffordable, you are pissed off.

"And for the younger generations, who are trying their hardest to make it in this ridiculous system, they feel hopeless! And that makes me burn with anger. None of this is antisemitic and I, along with millions of Americans, refuse that manipulative label. It’s the consequences of decades of America LAST policies, nonstop foreign intervention, and the American people clearly seeing the truth and suffering.

"Here is where I stand. No American should face persecution of any kind because of their identity. Not Jewish American. Not Muslim American. Not Christian American. Not White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, mixed American. And on and on.

"We already have hate crime laws against that and that’s not who we are in America and we have and should continue to work hard to not allow ourselves to become that.

"My position is this. As a U.S. Representative, I represent the American people. My full focus is on fixing America’s problems. And right now, the problems in America are threatening my children’s future. I consider that a war against my children.

"Every single person, no matter who they are that continues to enslave my children in debt, continues policies that make their lives unaffordable, and prioritizes foreign countries and foreign wars above my children’s lives and livelihoods, I see as the enemy waging the war against my children and their generation.

"I will continue to push for world peace because that is the type of world I want for my children and all the world’s children.

"I want America to put American companies and American jobs first and to protect American land and American homes from foreign consumption.

"Most importantly, I demand the federal government serve the American people, who pay your salaries.

"September 30th brings another annual government funding deadline.

"I sincerely hope Republicans, out on August recess right now, will return in September with a renewed focus to stop funding foreign wars and stop waging the fiscal war against my children and their entire generation."