NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 astronauts receive warm welcome as Dragon docks with ISS after record-setting trip; watch video

Four astronauts have arrived safely at the International Space Station (ISS) after launching from Florida earlier today. They launched atop SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket at 11:10 am EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA’s 13th crew rotation mission, Crew-13. The Dragon spacecraft carrying the astronauts docked at the station’s Harmony module 7 hours and 55 minutes later at 7:05 pm EDT, making it the fastest trip by a US vehicle in history.

After the docking was complete, the astronauts began standard leak checks and pressurization as they prepared to enter the station after the Dragon’s hatch opening at 9:19 pm. The Crew-13 mission includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins (mission commander) and Luke Delaney (pilot), Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, and they will spend at least six months aboard the orbital lab. This is Watkins’s second mission to the ISS and the first for the other three. 

The quartet has now joined the Expedition 75 crew of seven astronauts already on the station. Four of them—American astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot, and Russia’s Pyotr Dubrov—are part of the Crew-12 mission which launched in February and is due to return this month. The other three are NASA’s Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Anna Kikina and Andrey Fedyaev who flew to the station in July and will return in April 2027. 

At the live welcoming ceremony, the Crew-13 were received by the Expedition 75 members with warm smiles and hugs before they shared their remarks. “We are super glad to be here with Expedition 75. This is truly a special place. I’m excited to be back, excited to be sharing this place with my Crew-13 crewmates for the first time,” Watkins, the Crew-13 commander, said in her address. “Thank you Expedition 75 for such a warm welcome. We are happy to join you guys and get to work as soon as possible.” Joshua Kutryk, who is on his debut mission, shared his experience saying—“I cannot believe I am here. What a crazy day, a long day, can’t believe it but it feels really good. Looking forward to a good mission after some sleep. That’s what I’m gonna do next.” 

With Crew-13’s arrival, the population of the ISS has risen to 11. In a few days, NASA and SpaceX will clear Crew-12 for their departure are assessing weather conditions. In the coming days, Crew-12 commander Meir, who is also leading station operations, will hand over the ISS command to another Expedition 75 member before leaving for Earth.

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