NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission successfully lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. ET, bound for the International Space Station (ISS). The crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
The journey to the ISS is expected to take 7 hours and 50 minutes, with docking scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. This trajectory sets a new record for the fastest trip to the station by an American spacecraft. Bill Gerstenmaier, vice president of Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX, attributed the swift journey to orbital mechanics and a recent orbit adjustment by the space station that favorably aligned their paths.
Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk brought a family heirloom, a pocket watch over 100 years old, on the mission. He stated that the timepiece serves as a reminder of the progress made over the last century and the potential for future advancements.
Watkins is on her second spaceflight, while Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov are making their first journey to space. The Crew-13 mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, and the crew is scheduled to spend approximately six months aboard the ISS.
During their stay, the crew will conduct a variety of scientific experiments. These include research into stem-cell-derived tissues to advance medicine and disease modeling, studies on crop production for long-duration spaceflights, investigations into blood flow abnormalities in space, and testing new medical diagnostic equipment. The mission's scientific objectives aim to benefit life on Earth and prepare for future human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.
Following the Crew-13 crew's arrival, a handover period with the outgoing Crew-12 will occur, with the latter expected to return to Earth as early as Monday, October 5.
The launch faced delays in August due to a propulsion system issue in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and further troubleshooting of the vehicle's GPS and a microcontroller. However, after a Launch Readiness Review, both NASA and SpaceX gave the final go-ahead for the mission. The crew has embraced the mission number, incorporating a design similar to the Apollo 13 patch into their own mission patch.
The ISS is approaching 26 years of continuous human presence, having hosted over 280 astronauts from 26 countries since its inception. This ongoing operation underscores international cooperation in space and supports sustained human exploration efforts.