NASA and SpaceX Prepare for Crew-13 Launch to Space Station

NASA and SpaceX are preparing to launch the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The flight is the 13th crew rotation mission conducted by SpaceX under NASA's Commercial Crew Office. The crew will travel aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Grace, which previously carried astronauts during Axiom Mission 4 in summer 2025. The Falcon 9 rocket booster assigned to propel the capsule into orbit will be flying for the third time.

The International Crew

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will lead the flight as commander, joined by NASA astronaut Luke Delaney as pilot. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will serve as mission specialists.

The flight marks Watkins' second trip aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, making her the first NASA astronaut to achieve that milestone. For Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov, the mission represents their first journey to space.

Scientific Research and Station Handover

Upon arriving in orbit, the four astronauts will join the orbital outpost's Expedition 75 crew. During their stay, the team will participate in a wide array of scientific experiments, including investigations into human stem-cell derived tissues, space crop production, and blood flow abnormalities.

Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program at Johnson Space Center, outlined the laboratory work planned for the flight. She noted that by studying stem-cell derived tissues, the astronauts will assist researchers working to treat heart disease and Parkinson’s disease while advancing disease modeling and drug testing. Weigel added that the crew will also explore agricultural cultivation suited for longer space flights, study circulatory issues observed in orbit, and evaluate new diagnostic gear designed to assess crew health.

Following docking and a scheduled handover period aboard the complex, the four-person Crew-12 team—Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev—will depart the station and return to Earth.