Crew-13 reaches the final countdown
NASA and SpaceX are moving into the final hours before the Crew-13 launch to the International Space Station, with mission managers polling “go” after completing the Launch Readiness Review on Sept. 30 . The mission is targeting liftoff no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida .
The flight will send NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft . Watkins will command the spacecraft, Delaney will serve as pilot, and Kutryk and Teteryatnikov will fly as mission specialists .
The latest milestone matters because Crew-13 is not a one-off launch; it is another operational handoff in the station’s long-running crew rotation system. NASA describes the flight as the 13th SpaceX crew rotation mission to the ISS under the agency’s Commercial Crew framework . That makes the mission part of the post-shuttle architecture in which NASA buys transportation services from private providers while continuing to manage the scientific and diplomatic work of the station.
What changed in the final 72 hours
The current picture is straightforward: the rocket and spacecraft are at the pad, the crew has rehearsed launch-day procedures, and the mission has passed its final readiness gate. NASA said the Falcon 9 with Dragon on top was standing vertical at Space Launch Complex 40 by Sept. 27, ahead of the final countdown sequence .
On Sept. 29, the four crew members took part in a dry dress rehearsal at Cape Canaveral, including suit-up activities, air-leak checks, transport to the pad, and entry into the Dragon spacecraft that will take them to orbit . Such rehearsals are designed to run the crew and ground teams through the physical choreography of launch day before propellant loading and real-time launch operations begin.
The next day, NASA, SpaceX, and international partner teams completed the Launch Readiness Review and approved the mission to proceed into the launch count . That review is one of the last formal management checkpoints before a crewed launch, covering vehicle status, ground systems, flight rules, recovery preparations, station readiness, and constraints such as weather.
Weather remains the watch item
Even with technical teams ready, Florida weather is still a meaningful variable. The 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station predicted a 55% chance of favorable weather for the 11:10 a.m. EDT launch opportunity on Oct. 1 .
NASA said warm, moist air moving across Florida could produce scattered showers and mid-level clouds, with uncertainty around where and when those disturbances would form . That forecast does not stop the launch campaign, but it means the final decision will depend on real-time conditions at the Cape and along the ascent corridor.
For a crewed Dragon mission, the weather picture is broader than whether the pad itself is clear at T-0. Mission teams also evaluate abort and recovery zones because Dragon must be able to protect its crew if a rare in-flight abort becomes necessary. NASA’s public update in the final window focused on the 55% favorable forecast at the launch site, but the underlying review process covers the larger human-spaceflight risk picture .
The crew: experience, first flights and international balance
Crew-13 brings together one experienced NASA astronaut and three first-time space travelers. Jessica Watkins previously flew to the ISS on Crew-4 and spent 170 days in space during Expeditions 67 and 68 in 2022 . NASA says this flight will make Watkins the first NASA astronaut to launch twice aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft .
Luke Delaney, the Crew-13 pilot, is making his first spaceflight . He was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021 and previously worked as a naval aviator, test pilot, test pilot instructor, and NASA research pilot at Langley Research Center . FOX 35 Orlando highlighted Delaney’s Central Florida connection, noting that he grew up in Volusia County [6].
Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency is also making his first spaceflight . A former CF-18 fighter pilot and experimental test pilot, Kutryk will serve as a mission specialist . Sergey Teteryatnikov, a Roscosmos cosmonaut selected to the Russian cosmonaut corps in 2021, is likewise preparing for his first trip to the orbiting laboratory .
That mix reflects one of the ISS program’s defining features: the station remains a multinational platform even when the transportation system is launched from the United States on a U.S. commercial spacecraft. Crew-13 includes U.S., Canadian, and Russian crew members, continuing the operational pattern in which the station’s human presence is maintained through cross-agency coordination .
Why Crew-13 is going to the station
Crew-13 is scheduled for a long-duration science mission, with the astronauts and cosmonaut expected to conduct experiments, technology demonstrations, and maintenance aboard the orbital laboratory . NASA says the crew will support research linked to future Moon and Mars missions as well as investigations with potential benefits on Earth .
Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program, said Crew-13 research will include studies of human stem-cell-derived tissues connected to heart disease and Parkinson’s disease, work on crop production for longer space missions, research into blood-flow abnormalities in space, and tests of new diagnostic medical equipment for crew health monitoring .
That research portfolio shows why crew rotation launches are more than transportation events. A fresh crew allows the ISS to maintain continuous laboratory operations, continue long-term biological and physical science investigations, and keep station maintenance on schedule. Crew-13 is therefore both a launch campaign and a labor handoff.
A fast ride to the ISS
If the Oct. 1 timeline holds, Crew-13’s Dragon is scheduled to dock at about 7 p.m. EDT on the same day as launch, targeting the forward-facing port of the Harmony module . NASA said the planned 7-hour, 50-minute trip from liftoff to docking would be the fastest by a U.S. spacecraft in space station history .
Launch coverage is scheduled to begin at 9:20 a.m. EDT, followed by the 11:10 a.m. launch opportunity, a postlaunch news conference at 12:45 p.m., arrival coverage at 5:20 p.m., docking at 7 p.m., and hatch opening and welcome remarks around 8:45 p.m. . NASA cautioned that all times remain subject to real-time operations after launch .
The spacecraft will autonomously guide itself to the ISS after Falcon 9 accelerates Dragon to orbit, while the crew retains the ability to take manual control if needed . Dragon’s destination is the Harmony module, a central docking hub for U.S. segment visiting vehicles .
The handover with Crew-12
Once Crew-13 arrives, the new crew will overlap briefly with Crew-12 to transfer knowledge about current experiments, maintenance work, and station routines . NASA says Crew-12 is expected to begin its return to Earth no earlier than Monday, Oct. 5, after Crew-13 reaches the station .
Crew-12 includes NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev . NASA said their return details will be shared after Crew-13’s arrival .
This handover period is critical because the ISS is not a static facility. Experiments are running, hardware ages, visiting vehicles arrive and depart, and the crew must manage both scheduled science and unscheduled maintenance. The overlap gives the incoming crew practical context that cannot be fully captured in manuals or preflight training.
SpaceX’s continuing role
Crew-13 also illustrates how central SpaceX’s Crew Dragon system has become to NASA’s human spaceflight operations in low Earth orbit. NASA identifies the mission as the 13th crew rotation flight with SpaceX to the ISS under Commercial Crew . The spacecraft assigned to Crew-13 is Dragon Grace, which previously flew in summer 2025 in support of Axiom Mission 4 .
That reuse is a core part of SpaceX’s operating model: Falcon 9 and Dragon are designed around repeat flights, with inspections, refurbishment, and certification steps between missions. NASA said support teams were preparing a Falcon 9 booster for its third flight as part of the Crew-13 campaign .
The mission therefore carries both operational and symbolic weight. Operationally, it keeps the ISS staffed and productive. Symbolically, it reinforces the shift from government-owned crew transport systems to a model in which NASA defines mission requirements and safety standards while a commercial provider operates the launch and spacecraft service.
The bottom line
As of the latest updates inside the 72-hour launch window, NASA and SpaceX are ready to attempt Crew-13’s flight to the ISS. The mission has completed its dry dress rehearsal, cleared the Launch Readiness Review, and entered the final countdown with weather as the main public watch item .
If Falcon 9 lifts off as planned, Crew-13 will deliver Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov to the station for a long-duration mission of research, maintenance, and international operations . The launch is another reminder that routine access to orbit is built from thousands of non-routine details: rehearsals, reviews, weather calls, vehicle checks, international coordination, and the careful handoff from one station crew to the next.