SpaceX Set to Launch Crew-13 to the International Space Station with International Four-Person Team

NASA and SpaceX completed the Launch Readiness Review for the Crew-13 mission on September 30, with all teams polling go for launch. The Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Grace capsule are scheduled to lift off at 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, with weather forecasts showing 60 percent favourable conditions.

The crew comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. They will travel to the International Space Station for a six-month stay as part of Expedition 75, joining three core crew members already aboard. The four Crew-12 astronauts currently on the station are expected to return to Earth shortly after the handover.

The mission continues the operational cadence of NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which has relied on SpaceX's Crew Dragon since 2020 to ferry astronauts to and from the station. The international composition of the crew — spanning three space agencies — reflects ongoing cooperation in low-Earth-orbit operations even as geopolitical relationships remain complex.

Docking at the ISS is expected approximately eight hours after liftoff. NASA will provide live coverage of the launch and docking on its website and YouTube channel.