The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station display their mission plaque inside a training mockup of a space station module. From left are, Commander Jessica Watkins and Pilot Luke Delaney, both from NASA, and Mission Specialists Joshua Kutryk of CSA (Canadian Space Agency) and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos. Credit: NASA/Morgan Gridley

NASA and SpaceX are nearing launch of Crew-13, a four-person mission that could reach the International Space Station in less than nine hours.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 1, as the earliest opportunity to launch the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station.

Before liftoff, teams will complete final preparations and detailed readiness reviews to confirm that the astronauts, the International Space Station, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, and the Falcon 9 rocket are ready for flight. The mission is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Crew-13 Could Reach the Station in Under Nine Hours

Falcon 9 will provide the power needed to send Dragon and its crew into orbit. After separating from the rocket, Dragon will continue toward the International Space Station and adjust its orbit to line up with the fast-moving laboratory.

If Crew-13 launches on October 1 as planned, the spacecraft is expected to reach the station less than nine hours later. Docking is scheduled for about 8 p.m. at the forward-facing port of the Harmony module.

Docking is the process of carefully approaching the station and securely connecting the spacecraft to it. Harmony is one of the station’s main connecting modules and includes docking ports used by visiting spacecraft.

The SpaceX Crew-13 members are pictured in their pressure suits seated inside a mockup Dragon spacecraft during a preflight training session at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are, Roscosmos Sergey Teteryatnikov, NASA astronauts Luke Delaney and Jessica Watkins, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk. Credit: SpaceX

Meet the Crew-13 Astronauts

NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will serve as spacecraft commander, while NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will serve as pilot.

CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will serve as mission specialists, supporting operations and research during the mission.

After arriving at the station, all four astronauts will become members of Expedition 75. Expeditions are long-duration crew assignments aboard the International Space Station, where astronauts conduct scientific research, maintain the orbiting laboratory, and test technologies for future missions.

Final Preparations Before Launch

Crew-13 is currently in quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Preflight quarantine helps reduce the risk of astronauts becoming sick before launch or bringing illness aboard the station.

The crew is scheduled to travel to NASA Kennedy on Saturday, September 26, as final preparations continue for the planned October 1 liftoff.

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