NASA and SpaceX set 1 October for Crew-13 launch to the space station

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

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will carry the Crew Dragon spacecraft — named Grace — from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. For a 1 October launch, the capsule would dock at the station about 8 p.m. the same day, less than nine hours later, at the forward-facing port of the Harmony module. Mission details

The four-person crew — NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins (commander) and Luke Delaney (pilot), Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov (mission specialists) — is in quarantine at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and will travel to Kennedy on Saturday, 26 September. Once aboard the station, Crew-13 will join Expedition 75. Crew line-up

The flight was originally set for 12 September but was scrubbed after an oxidizer leak was found in Grace’s propulsion system; NASA said the team successfully replaced the faulty oxidizer valve before clearing the mission for the new October date. Delay background

Sources

• NASA space station blog: “NASA, SpaceX Move to Final Crew-13 Prelaunch Prep for Oct. 1 Liftoff” (22 Sept 2026, 5:49 p.m.): https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/09/22/nasa-spacex-move-to-final-crew-13-prelaunch-prep-for-oct-1-liftoff/
• Wikipedia, “SpaceX Crew-13”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Crew-13
• USA Today, “NASA’s next astronaut mission just got delayed. Here’s what happened” (1 Sept 2026): https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/space/2026/09/01/spacex-nasa-crew-13-launch-delayed/91547507007/
• Starlust, “NASA shares major update on the Crew-13 mission to the ISS — here’s when it will launch”: https://starlust.org/nasa-shares-major-update-on-the-crew-13-mission-to-the-is-sheres-when-it-will-launch/