SpaceX lines up Crew-13 and Falcon Heavy NROL-97 on a same-day Oct 1 doubleheader

SpaceX is planning a launch doubleheader from Florida’s Space Coast on Thursday Oct 1: NASA’s four Crew-13 astronauts in the late morning and a national-security Falcon Heavy late at night, Florida Today reported.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 a.m. EDT to launch Crew-13 to the International Space Station aboard a Falcon 9 and Dragon from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The crew — NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins (commander) and Florida-born Luke Delaney (pilot), Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov — will join the station’s Expedition 75.

Just over twelve hours later, at 11:53 p.m., a Falcon Heavy is due to rise from pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center carrying the secretive NROL-97 payload for the National Reconnaissance Office — the NRO’s first-ever launch aboard a Falcon Heavy, following 22 successful Falcon 9 launches. After stage separation, both side boosters are scheduled to land at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, generating sonic booms across Central Florida around midnight.

Crew-13 was originally due to fly on Sept 12 but slipped after an oxidizer leak was found in Dragon’s propulsion system; NASA has since replaced an oxidizer valve, Nature World News reported. Once Crew-13 arrives and completes its handover, the four Crew-12 astronauts will return to Earth after a stay of nearly eight months.

Oct 1 remains a target, not a guarantee — crewed launch dates can move on technical or weather grounds.