NASA and SpaceX are targeting Thursday, October 1, for the launch of Crew-13, the 13th crew rotation mission to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Liftoff is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. EDT (8:40 p.m. IST) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The four-person crew — commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney of NASA, mission specialist Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, and mission specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos — will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. If the schedule holds, the Dragon is expected to dock with the station's Harmony module at about 7 p.m. EDT the same day, with the hatch opening roughly 90 minutes later.
A mission years in the making
For Watkins, this is a second trip to the station and, according to spaceflight coverage, her second flight aboard a Dragon — a first for an active NASA astronaut. For Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov, it will be their first spaceflight. Watkins previously flew on Crew-4.
The crew will join the Expedition 75 team for a long-duration science mission. According to NASA, the crew will support research into heart disease and Parkinson's disease through human stem-cell-derived tissues, explore crop production for long-duration spaceflight, study blood-flow abnormalities seen in space, and test new diagnostic medical equipment for monitoring crew health.
Delayed by a leak
The launch comes after a brief delay. NASA and SpaceX said they had detected an oxidizer leak on the Dragon capsule's propulsion system, and pushed the mission back while engineers repaired it. With the fix complete, the teams completed a final dress rehearsal — including spacesuit leak checks and spacecraft ingress at the pad — on September 30.
The crew is replacing members of Crew-12, who have been aboard the station since docking in mid-February. After a brief handover period, Crew-12 will await favorable weather conditions for its return to Earth.
NASA will carry live coverage of the launch on NASA+, beginning at 9:20 a.m. EDT, with docking coverage from 5:20 p.m. A backup launch opportunity is available on Friday, October 2, if weather or technical issues intervene.
Sources:
- What You Need to Know About NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 Mission
- NASA Sets Crew-13 Launch, Docking Coverage
- 4 astronauts due to head to space station. What to know about Crew-13
The four-person crew — commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney of NASA, mission specialist Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, and mission specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos — will travel aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket. If the schedule holds, the Dragon is expected to dock with the station's Harmony module at about 7 p.m. EDT the same day, with the hatch opening roughly 90 minutes later.
A mission years in the making
For Watkins, this is a second trip to the station and, according to spaceflight coverage, her second flight aboard a Dragon — a first for an active NASA astronaut. For Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov, it will be their first spaceflight. Watkins previously flew on Crew-4.
The crew will join the Expedition 75 team for a long-duration science mission. According to NASA, the crew will support research into heart disease and Parkinson's disease through human stem-cell-derived tissues, explore crop production for long-duration spaceflight, study blood-flow abnormalities seen in space, and test new diagnostic medical equipment for monitoring crew health.
Delayed by a leak
The launch comes after a brief delay. NASA and SpaceX said they had detected an oxidizer leak on the Dragon capsule's propulsion system, and pushed the mission back while engineers repaired it. With the fix complete, the teams completed a final dress rehearsal — including spacesuit leak checks and spacecraft ingress at the pad — on September 30.
The crew is replacing members of Crew-12, who have been aboard the station since docking in mid-February. After a brief handover period, Crew-12 will await favorable weather conditions for its return to Earth.
NASA will carry live coverage of the launch on NASA+, beginning at 9:20 a.m. EDT, with docking coverage from 5:20 p.m. A backup launch opportunity is available on Friday, October 2, if weather or technical issues intervene.
Sources:
- What You Need to Know About NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 Mission
- NASA Sets Crew-13 Launch, Docking Coverage
- 4 astronauts due to head to space station. What to know about Crew-13
