Crew-13 Continues Long-term Operations off the Earth

October 1, 2026

*SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with Crew Dragon spacecraft atop, stands ready for liftoff at Launch Complex 40 and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Photo credit: SpaceAgeChroocle.com/Bob Granath*

By Bob Granath

As NASA plans for extensive exploration of the Moon, the agency and its partners continue research into living off the Earth for long-term space missions. A SpaceX Crew Dragon lifted off at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Oct 1, 2026, from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for the Crew-13 mission. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, accompanied by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov plan a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 lifts off atop the company’s Falcon 9 rocket from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 1, 2026. Four astronauts are on their way for a six-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

“Crew-13 is another demonstration of America’s unmatched capability in human spaceflight and the strength of our commercial partnerships,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman after the launch. “Jessica, Luke, Joshua, and Sergey will carry forward important work aboard the International Space Station while helping us build the experience and capabilities needed for ambitious missions to the Moon and beyond. Congratulations to the crew and the NASA and SpaceX teams who made today’s launch possible.”

The original launch date in September was delayed to allow a joint NASA and SpaceX team to analyze an oxidizer leak on Dragon’s propulsion system detected during standard prelaunch spacecraft processing. Once the issue was resolved, the new launch date was set.

With the successful Artemis II mission in April 2026, NASA is progressing toward building a base on the lunar surface. Ongoing research aboard the orbiting laboratory is designed to benefit humans living on and off the Earth. What is learned in orbit will aid preparations for long-term operations on the Moon and eventual exploration of Mars.

Members of the Crew-13 depart the Operations and Checkout Building for the launch pad during a dress rehearsal for their mission on Sept. 29, 2026. From, the left are Joshua Kutryk, Luke Delaney, Jessica Watkins and Sergey Teteryatnikov. Photo Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

On May 12, 2026, Luke Delaney, front, along with Joshua Kutryk, Jessica Watkins and astronaut Stan Love, view microgreens in the Plant Processing Area inside the Space Systems Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. During the Crew-13 mission, astronauts will explore growing crops outside of the station’s Veggie chamber. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

“Our steady cadence of commercial crew launches demonstrates the essential role the International Space Station plays in sustaining our presence in Earth’s orbit and sharpening the tools we’ll take forward to the Moon and Mars,” said Dr. Lori Glaze, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Spaceflight Mission Directorate at the agency’s headquarters in Washington. “Each space station mission adds to our blueprint for exploration, and the work our crews carry out guides our plans while ensuring we keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in human spaceflight.”

During a prelaunch news conference, Dana Weigel, manager of NASA’s Low Earth Orbit Program at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, spoke of how the space station is developing technology needed for missions to Mars.

“This (mission’s crew) will explore crop production, which is important for longer-duration spaceflight missions,” she said focusing on the fact that a trip to the Red Planet may take from a year-and-a-half to two years.

Following the arrival of the latest crew, a handover process will allow Crew-12 astronauts to transition space station activities to Crew-13, continuing science and maintenance aboard the space station. The handover will mark the beginning of International Space Station Expedition 75/76. Shortly thereafter, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway along with European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot of France and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev of Russia, launched Feb. 13, 2026, will return to Earth. Crew-13 will join NASA astronaut Anil Menon and Russian cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina who were launched aboard Soyuz MS-29 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14, 2026.

The Crew

This will be the second flight to the space station for Watkins who will serve as commander. She was a mission specialist on the Crew-4 mission in 2022, Her broad talents include being a geologist, an aquanaut and a former international rugby player. Born in Gaithersburg, Maryland, her family later moved to Lafayette, Colorado when she was growing up. She earned a bachelor’s degree in geological and environmental sciences at Stanford University where she was a member of the rugby team. In 2008, during her sophomore year, she was a member of the Division I national champion team. She also played for the USA Eagles in its 3rd-place finish at the 2009 Rugby World Cup.

During Expedition 67 on Sept. 19, 2022, Jessica Watkins works on the Surface Avatar laptop computer in the International Space Station’s Columbus Laboratory studying haptic controls and user interfaces that could be used to control surface-bound robots from space. Photo credit: NASA

Watkins was awarded a doctorate in geology at the University of California, Los Angeles where her graduate research focused on emplacement mechanisms for landslides on Mars and Earth. As an undergraduate, she worked at NASA’s Ames Research Center to support the Mars Phoenix lander. As a graduate student, she worked at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. After selection as a NASA astronaut in 2017, she participated in NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, mission in June 2019. The program sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the world’s only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time. While on the seafloor, Watkins tested technologies for deep space missions and lunar exploration.

At a prelaunch news conference on Aug. 3, 2026, Watkins spoke about her expectations for the upcoming flight.

“I personally am looking forward to returning to the (space station), as well as flying on Dragon a second time,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to those experiences through the eyes of my crewmates.”

*Luke Delaney prepares for underwater spacewalk training at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/ Bill Stafford*

A native of DeBary, Florida, Delaney was awarded a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. After enlisting in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1998, he became a naval aviator who participated in exercises throughout the Asia-Pacific region and conducted combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He went on to earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School.

Delaney evaluated developmental aircraft systems and served as a test pilot instructor. He also worked as a research pilot at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where he supported airborne science missions. Selected as a NASA astronaut in 2021, he will be making his first trip into space and will be the Crew-13 pilot.

“Between the science, the spacewalks and everything else the expedition is going to have — it’s looking to be a great time,” Delaney said at the pre-mission news briefing.

Joshua Kutryk is suited up for spacewalk training at NASA Johnson Space Center's Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. — *Joshua Kutryk is suited up for spacewalk training at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory. Photo credit: NASA/David DeHoyos*

Serving as a Crew-13 mission specialist, Kutryk was born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. As his father was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the family moved frequently, living in Fort Saskatchewan, Elk Point and Whitehorse before his father retired settling onto a cattle farm near Beauvallon, Alberta. Kutryk graduated from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. He subsequently completed a master’s degree in space studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2009, a master’s degree in flight test engineering at the Air University in 2012, and a master’s degree in defense studies at the Royal Military College of Canada in 2014.

Kutryk served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a CF-188 jet aircraft pilot based in Bagotville, Quebec from 2007 to 2011. During that time, the RCAF deployed him on combat missions to both Libya and Afghanistan. Kutryk went on to graduate from the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He was selected by the Canadian Space Agency to be an astronaut in 2017.

*Sergey Teteryatnikov participates in photography training at the Yuri Gagarin Training Center in Star City, Moscow. Photo credit: Roscosmos;*

Before the flight, Kutryk noted that he loves trials.

“There certainly is challenge associated with this one,” he said. “But I’m looking forward to actually managing that. I think that my family is ready. I have a wonderful huge support network from my wife outwards around us.”

Teteryatnikov was born in Uspenovka, Stavropol Krai, which then was part of the Soviet Union. He graduated from the Naval Engineering Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2011 as an engineer specializing in ship power plant operations. He went on to serve in numerous naval engineering posts, including undersea vessels and specialized engine room operations. He was selected for the Cosmonaut Corps in 2021 and has served as a test cosmonaut since 2023. Along with Kutryk, he will serve as a mission specialist and will be flying in space for the first time.

Ahead of launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the Dragon spacecraft atop, is transported to Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sept. 27, 2026. Photo credit: SpaceX/Ben Cooper

The Spacecraft

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands on its launch pad at sunset on Sept. 28, 2026. — *The SpaceX Falcon 9 stands on its launch pad at sunset. Photo credit: SpaceX/Ben Cooper*

The SpaceX Crew Dragon is an autonomous spacecraft designed to deliver a mix of crew and cargo to low-Earth orbit. The capsule is 27 feet high and 13 feet in diameter. For NASA trips to the International Space Station, the Crew Dragon will carry from four to seven NASA-sponsored crewmembers and return astronauts with about 6,600 pounds of time-critical scientific research experiments and equipment. The capsule’s trunk is an integral element of the spacecraft, containing solar panels, heat-removal radiators, and fins to provide aerodynamic stability in the unlikely event of an emergency abort.

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle is 229 feet tall and is 12 feet in diameter. The first stage has nine engines generating 1,710,000 pounds of thrust. The second stage has one engine with 210,000 pounds of thrust. Propellant for both stages is RP-1, highly refined kerosene, and liquid oxygen. Like the Crew Dragon spacecraft, the first stage of the rocket is reusable. The Crew-13’s Falcon 9 was the launch vehicle for Crew-12 in February 2026 and boosted Starlink satellites to Earth orbit before being checked out prior to being transported to the launch pad on Sept. 27. After liftoff, the Falcon 9 first stage returns to a landing pad at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

The Mission

Weigel noted that several studies aboard the International Space Station during Expedition 75/76 would focus on using the microgravity of space to develop new ways to improve healthcare on Earth.

“The crew will help researchers treat heart disease and Parkinson’s disease by studying human stem-cell derived tissues that can help improve medicine, disease modeling, and pharmaceutical testing,” she said. “(This will) help us better understand blood flow abnormalities that we see in space, and test new diagnostic medical equipment for monitoring crew health.”

SpaceX Crew 13 Pilot Luke Delaney sits inside a Dragon spacecraft mockup while tapping a cockpit screen interface during a pre flight training session on June 8, 2026, at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Photo credit: SpaceX

During their stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, Crew-13 will welcome two resupply spacecraft. NASA’s SpaceX 35th commercial resupply mission will arrive with Roll-Out Solar Arrays. The crew also will receive NASA’s Northrop Grumman Commercial Resupply Services-25 mission later this year.

Following the arrival of Crew-14 in March 2027, Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov plan to autonomously depart the space station, re-enter Earth’s atmosphere and splash down off the coast of California. A SpaceX recovery vessel will pick up the spacecraft and crew. The replacement crew will be NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Christina Birch, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Makoto Suwa and Roscosmos cosmonaut Harutyun Kiviryan.

According to NASA’s website, “NASA’s Commercial Crew Program has delivered on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is changing the arc of human spaceflight history by opening access to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, more science, and more commercial opportunities.”

Crew-13 Lifts Off to International Space Station

Check out this short video of the Crew-13 liftoff of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, accompanied by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Video courtesy of NASA