SpaceX Launches NASA's Crew-13 Mission to the International Space Station

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on October 1, 2026, carrying the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station, according to NASA.

The spacecraft is carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, NASA reported. The mission continues a long-running pattern of international cooperation aboard the ISS, bringing together crew members from the United States, Canada, and Russia on a single flight.

Continuing ISS Operations

Crew-13 is part of NASA's ongoing Commercial Crew Program, under which SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft regularly ferries astronauts to and from the space station alongside Russia's Soyuz vehicle. These rotation missions typically see crew members spend several months aboard the orbiting laboratory conducting scientific research and station maintenance before being relieved by the next incoming crew.

NASA's report did not specify the planned duration of this crew's stay aboard the station or detail the scientific experiments planned for the mission. It also did not indicate which crew the Crew-13 astronauts are relieving aboard the ISS.

The launch adds to a steady cadence of crewed missions to the ISS as the station continues operations, with NASA and its international partners planning for the station's eventual retirement later in the decade alongside the development of newer commercial space stations.