NASA SpaceX Crew-13: Launch, Docking, Crew and What's Next
NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission launched at 11:10 a.m. EDT (15:10 UTC) on Thursday, Oct. 1, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, and docked with the International Space Station at 7:05 p.m. EDT (23:05 UTC). That is 7 hours 55 minutes after liftoff, NASA's space station blog says, the fastest launch-to-docking of a U.S. spacecraft in the station's history. The hatch opened at 9:19 p.m. EDT (01:19 UTC on Oct. 2), and the four crew members entered the station to join Expedition 75.
Four people are riding the SpaceX Dragon Grace for a stay of about six months. Liftoff came more than two weeks later than first planned, after an oxidizer leak was found in Grace's propulsion system in August.
Launch and docking time in your country
| Where | Launch | Docking |
|---|---|---|
| UTC | 15:10 | 23:05 |
| New York, Florida | 11:10 a.m. | 7:05 p.m. |
| Texas, Illinois | 10:10 a.m. | 6:05 p.m. |
| Alberta, Colorado | 9:10 a.m. | 5:05 p.m. |
| California, British Columbia | 8:10 a.m. | 4:05 p.m. |
| UK, Nigeria | 4:10 p.m. | 12:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| France, Germany, South Africa | 5:10 p.m. | 1:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kenya | 6:10 p.m. | 2:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| UAE, Oman | 7:10 p.m. | 3:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Pakistan | 8:10 p.m. | 4:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| India | 8:40 p.m. | 4:35 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Bangladesh | 9:10 p.m. | 5:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Indonesia (Jakarta) | 10:10 p.m. | 6:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, China | 11:10 p.m. | 7:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Japan, South Korea | 12:10 a.m. (Oct. 2) | 8:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
| Sydney, Melbourne | 1:10 a.m. (Oct. 2) | 9:05 a.m. (Oct. 2) |
NASA had planned the hatch opening for about 8:45 p.m. EDT, once the crew finished standard leak checks and pressurization. It opened at 9:19 p.m.
How the day went
- Launch. The Falcon 9 lifted off on time from Space Launch Complex 40. NASA's blog says Dragon reached orbit, separated from the second stage and opened its nosecone.
- Booster landing. The first stage landed at Landing Zone 40 about 7 minutes 40 seconds after liftoff. It was that booster's third flight, Space.com says.
- Docking. Dragon docked at the forward port of the station's Harmony module. The previous U.S. record was 12 hours 33 minutes, set by a cargo Dragon in November 2024, Space.com reports. The fastest astronaut trip in a U.S. vehicle had been 14 hours 43 minutes, by Crew-11 in August 2025. A Russian Soyuz still holds the overall record of 3 hours 3 minutes.
Who is flying
- Jessica Watkins (NASA), commander. A geologist who worked on the Curiosity rover science team, she spent 170 days on the station in 2022. She becomes the first NASA astronaut to launch twice on a SpaceX Dragon.
- Luke Delaney (NASA), pilot. A retired Marine Corps major, naval aviator and test pilot selected in 2021. First spaceflight.
- Joshua Kutryk (Canadian Space Agency), mission specialist. A former CF-18 fighter pilot from Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. First spaceflight. His wife, Heather, is expecting the couple's third child around Thanksgiving, about two months into the mission, CBS News reports.
- Sergey Teteryatnikov (Roscosmos), mission specialist. A former naval engineer and test cosmonaut since 2023. First spaceflight.
Their spacecraft is Dragon Grace, which last flew the private Axiom Mission 4 in 2025. NASA says the crew will help researchers study human stem-cell tissues that could improve treatment of heart disease and Parkinson's disease, explore crop growth for longer missions, study blood-flow problems seen in space and test new medical diagnostic equipment.
What happens next
- Crew-12 has left. The outgoing crew (Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot and Andrey Fedyaev) undocked at 8:05 a.m. EDT on Oct. 7, NASA says, and splashed down off Los Angeles at 11:34 a.m. EDT on Oct. 8, NASA says. Their departure leaves seven people on the station, NASA says. See our page on the Crew-12 splashdown.
- More supplies. NASA and SpaceX are targeting 6:33 a.m. EDT on Oct. 13 for a cargo Dragon with two roll-out solar arrays, with docking around 11 a.m. EDT on Oct. 15 (NASA). Spacewalks late this month and in early November will install the final two sets, CBS News reports.
- A six-month stay. Crew-13 is expected to come home around February or March, when SpaceX launches the Crew-14 astronauts to replace them (Space.com).
Launch and docking times are from NASA's space station blog, as of Oct. 2, 2026.
