KENNEDY SPACE CENTER/CAPE CANAVERAL SPACE FORCE STATION, FL – Despite a poor weather forecast and rain showers just hours before liftoff the NASA SpaceX Crew-13 mission took flight at last as the skies mostly cleared at last – thereby allowing a beautiful blastoff near noontime of a multinational space flyer foursome bound for a half year science expedition aboard the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida’s Space Coast
Liftoff of NASAs Crew-13 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule took place right on time Thursday, Oct. 1 at 11:10 a.m. ET from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The 4 astronauts and cosmonauts on board are aiming to conduct an 6+ month science expedition to the Earth orbiting laboratory.
The mission was delayed several weeks by technical delays to fix a toxic propellent leak of Nitrogen tetroxide
The Crew-13 crew comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
Watkins is the sole veteran making her second spaceflight. The other three are rookies
Watkins is also the first NASA astronaut to fly two times on a NASA SpaceX Dragon mission. Her first flight was aboard the Crew-4 flight in 2022
Eight minutes later their Falcon 9 first stage tail number B1101 nailed an upright landing back at the Cape at Landing Zone-40 (LZ-40) located with the perimeter of pad 40 and just a few hundred feet from the launch pad.
Enjoy our launch and landing and astronaut photos taken by Ken Kremer and Jean Wright for Space UpClose
“Crew-13 is another demonstration of America’s unmatched capability in human spaceflight and the strength of our commercial partnerships,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman.
“Jessica, Luke, Joshua, and Sergey will carry forward important work aboard the International Space Station while helping us build the experience and capabilities needed for ambitious missions to the Moon and beyond. Congratulations to the crew and the NASA and SpaceX teams who made today’s launch possible.”
Dragon will complete the fastest launch-to-docking by a U.S. spacecraft in the history of the International Space Station after it docks autonomously to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 7 p.m.
“Our steady cadence of commercial crew launches demonstrates the essential role the International Space Station plays in sustaining our presence in Earth’s orbit and sharpening the tools we’ll take forward to the Moon and Mars,” said Dr. Lori Glaze, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington.
“Each space station mission adds to our blueprint for exploration, and the work our crews carry out guides our plans while ensuring we keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in human spaceflight.”
During Dragon’s approximately 7-hour, 50-minute flight, SpaceX will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Hawthorne, California.
NASA will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
NASA’s Crew-13 international quartet of astronaut and cosmonauts had arrived Saturday afternoon Sep 26 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at Florida’s Space Coast ahead of their launch planned for Oct 1 bound for the International Space Station (ISS).
Liftoff was delayed about 3 weeks from an initial target date of Sept. 12 after an oxidizer leak was found in their Crew Dragon spacecraft which caused a substantial delay and required significant time to fix and repair, as NASA announced on Aug. 26 – with few updates. Safety is always top priority
Crew-13 will replace the departing Crew-12 after a brief handover lasting a few days.
Crew-13 is SpaceX’s 13th crew rotation mission for NASA and the company’s 14th carrying NASA astronauts to the space station, including the Demo-2 test flight in 2020
More from NASA:
NASA’s live arrival coverage begins at 5:20 p.m. for rendezvous, docking, and hatch opening. After docking, the crew members will change out of their spacesuits and prepare cargo for offload before opening the hatch to the station’s Harmony module around 8:45 p.m.
NASA will stream Crew‑13’s arrival across multiple platforms. Learn where to watch at:
Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov will join the Expedition 75 crew, which includes NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina already aboard the station. After a brief handover, NASA’s SpaceX Crew‑12 mission, with agency astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, will return to Earth.
During its mission, Crew‑13 will help advance research aboard the orbiting laboratory by using microgravity to produce human stem cell‑derived tissues for improved personalized medicine, disease modeling, and pharmaceutical testing for conditions such as heart disease and Parkinson’s. The crew also will explore crop production through a new, mostly autonomous plant growth system and test how plants grow outside dedicated facilities. In addition, the crew members will continue human‑health studies that examine factors linked to blood-flow abnormalities in microgravity and will test a new inflight diagnostic device to monitor astronaut health.
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Recent Ken Kremer TV interviews about Crew-13 mission:
On Oct. 1 Fox 35 Orlando: On Launch Day Oct. 1, I was interviewed live on LiveNOW from FOX less than 3 hours before liftoff of the NASA SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station
Watch my complete live interview on LiveNOW from FOX here:
https://www.livenowfox.com/video/fmc-ak5hzcb3jlxedujm
Video: https://www.livenowfox.com/video/fmc-ak5hzcb3jlxedujm
Caption: Launch day for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the International Space Station is scheduled to launch from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday, October 1, 2026. LiveNow Fox Host Christy Matino speaks with research scientist Dr. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose just hours before liftoff in front of the KSC Countdown Clock ticking down to liftoff
On Sep. 30 WFTV ABC News Orlando: Watch my NASA SpaceX Crew 13 prelaunch commentary!
video: https://www.wftv.com/news/crew-13-launch-preview/07a479e7-5bc5-428b-9cbd-58e3b68bb058/
On Sep. 23, I was interviewed live on FOX 35 Orlando for an update about preparations to launch the NASA SpaceX Crew-13 astronaut mission with four crew members to the ISS
Watch my complete live interview on Fox 35 here:
https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-njofqzznfz2s2upn
https://youtu.be/skkBTiGR3VM?si=yQQEAmlLadejkxe1
Caption: NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 am on Thursday, October 1st as the earliest launch opportunity for the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, the ISS National Laboratory released some its findings for a case study that validates a new way of capturing space debris. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor of Space UpClose, joined FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live over Zoom to discuss the latest on Sept. 23, 2026.
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