SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station on Thursday, sending four astronauts into orbit aboard the Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 11:10 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40, and its first-stage booster later landed at Landing Zone 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The crew comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. NASA said Dragon reached orbit successfully, separated from the Falcon 9’s second stage and opened its nosecone.
Crew-13 is targeting a docking at the International Space Station’s Harmony module at 7 p.m. EDT. After spending about seven hours and 50 minutes phasing through orbit, the spacecraft could complete the fastest launch-to-docking journey in the station’s history.
At the time of liftoff, the ISS was orbiting Earth at about 17,500 mph, or 28,200 km/h, roughly 263 miles above the planet. It passed directly over the launch pad 97 seconds after the Falcon 9 lifted off.
NASA has scheduled a post-launch media briefing for 1:10 p.m. EDT at the Kennedy Space Center. Participants are expected to include NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate Director Lori Glaze, Low Earth Orbit Program Manager Dana Weigel, Canadian Space Agency Director Mathieu Caron and SpaceX Director Julianna Scheiman.
The crew’s mission will include research into human stem-cell-derived tissues, crop production and astronaut health. The experiments are intended to support personalized medicine, disease modeling and drug testing for conditions such as heart disease and Parkinson’s. Crew-13 will also test a largely autonomous plant-growth system, examine how plants develop outside dedicated growth facilities and trial an in-flight diagnostic device for monitoring astronaut health.
Crew-13 is part of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program, which partners with private companies to maintain access to space, advance research aboard the ISS and support future missions beyond low Earth orbit.
Original Source: https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/spacex-falcon-9-booster-lands-at-lz-40-after-launching-nasas-crew-13-to-iss20261002010840/
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Publish Date: 2026-10-02 01:08:00
