NASA’s Crew-13 dress rehearsal done, astronauts ready for fastest-ever trip to ISS on an American spacecraft

Four astronauts have completed the final leg of their preparations for NASA’s Crew-13 mission, which is slated to launch on October 1. The quartet will board SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which will launch atop a Falcon 9 rocket at 11:10 am EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On September 30, NASA announced that the crew had completed a dry dress rehearsal, which involves donning their SpaceX spacesuits and conducting air leak checks to ensure they are properly sealed. After the spacesuit check, they also traveled to Space Launch Complex 40, where they rehearsed entering the Dragon spacecraft.

Crew-13 includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. This marks the second spaceflight for Watkins and the first for the other three. Interestingly, Watkins will be flying to the space station on a Dragon spacecraft for the second time after her flight on Crew-4, a first for an active NASA astronaut. Their trip to the station will take 7 hours and 50 minutes, which is the fastest by a U.S. spacecraft in ISS history, says NASA.

The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to dock at the station’s Harmony module at 7 pm EDT, and the hatch will be opened for the astronauts to enter the ISS at 8:45 pm. “After Crew-13 arrives aboard the orbiting laboratory, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 crew members will help familiarize the new crew with ongoing science and station maintenance activities for a smooth transition of operations,” NASA said in a statement. After the handover, Crew-12 will await their return to Earth when the weather conditions are favorable.

Crew-12 launched in February with NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Sophie Adenot, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. While their successors prepare to launch on the ground, Crew-12 astronauts are busy packing their Dragon spacecraft with personal items and other cargo ahead of their departure. After their departure, Crew-13 will share the station with NASA’s Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina, who launched to the station on July 14 aboard Russia’s Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Crew-13 will be followed by Crew-14, which is targeted for launch no earlier than spring 2027.

Where to watch Crew-13 launch live? 

NASA’s coverage of the Crew-13 launch will begin at 9:20 am EDT, and you can watch it live on Twitch, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, and NASA+. During Dragon’s transit to the station, the agency will provide audio-only coverage, and the webcast will resume at 5:20 pm, when the spacecraft will begin docking. You can watch the astronauts being welcomed into the station on Twitch, X, YouTube, and NASA+.

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