The Brief
- SpaceX Crew-13 lifted off Thursday from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida with four astronauts headed to the International Space Station.
- Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk carried a more than 100-year-old family pocket watch aboard the Dragon spacecraft as a reminder of his family’s history and the changes of the past century.
- Crew-13 is expected to reach the International Space Station in about 7 hours and 50 minutes and will spend about six months there conducting research on human health, crop production and other spaceflight needs.
Crew-13 Reaches Space
At Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, SpaceX Crew-13 lifted off Thursday with four astronauts headed to the International Space Station. The crew includes Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
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The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft launched at 11:10 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40. The crew is scheduled to reach the International Space Station about 7 hours and 50 minutes after launch, with docking planned for 7 p.m. ET.
Mission Delayed Before Launch
The Crew-13 mission was delayed in August after an oxidizer leak was found in the Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system during environmental checks. SpaceX also worked through unexpected issues involving the spacecraft’s GPS and a rocket engine motor microcontroller.
NASA and SpaceX continued reviewing the vehicle and flight data before the mission. After a Launch Readiness Review on Wednesday afternoon, both teams cleared Crew-13 for flight.
Mission Details
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For Kutryk, the mission carries a personal family connection. He brought a pocket watch that has been in his Ukrainian Canadian family for more than 100 years. The fourth-generation Ukrainian Canadian said the watch reminds him of how much his family and the world have changed over the past century.
Crew-13 is expected to spend about six months aboard the International Space Station. During the mission, the crew will work on research involving human health, crop production, blood flow and medical equipment.
The research will include studies of human stem-cell-derived tissues that could help researchers work on heart disease and Parkinson’s disease. The crew will also explore crop production, study blood flow abnormalities seen in space and test new medical equipment for monitoring crew health.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program includes the Crew-13 mission. The flight is Watkins’ second trip to space, while Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov are making their first spaceflight.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock with the International Space Station at 7 p.m. ET. Hatch opening is expected around 8:45 p.m. ET, followed by a short handover period with Crew-12.
Crew-12 has been aboard the station since February and is expected to return to Earth as early as Monday, Oct. 5.
Crew-13 has also embraced its mission number. The crew’s mission patch pays tribute to Apollo 13 and features a golden dragon inspired by the three golden horses shown on the Apollo 13 patch.
November will mark 26 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station. During that time, more than 280 astronauts from 26 countries and the station’s five international partners have spent time aboard the ISS.
NASA’s Lori Glaze said the station’s continued research and technology demonstrations benefit people on Earth, support U.S. leadership in space and help prepare for longer-duration human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.
