SpaceX launches Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched the Crew-13 mission from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on October 1, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. local time. The Dragon spacecraft is carrying a four-member crew, including NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Despite initial weather concerns and a delay from mid-September due to a propulsion system valve replacement, the mission is proceeding toward the International Space Station (ISS).

The crew is expected to reach the ISS in approximately eight hours, which represents a record transit time for a US rocket compared to the 30-hour journey experienced during the previous mission in February. Upon arrival, the new team will begin a six-month mission, while the current occupants—Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev—will remain on the station for a short handover period before returning to Earth. The mission commander, Jessica Watkins, previously flew on a Crew Dragon in 2022, while the crew features military test pilot experience and naval background.