NASA Crew-13 Launch: Four Astronauts Set for Six-Month ISS Mission
NASA's Crew-13 mission will send four astronauts to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft for around six months of research and station operations.
NASA is preparing to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft for a mission lasting around six months.
The Crew-13 mission is scheduled to launch no earlier than 8:40 pm on October 1 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
The astronauts recently completed a dry dress rehearsal at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the launch site, practising procedures they will follow on launch day.
After reaching the ISS, Crew-13 will take over from the Crew-12 astronauts and begin a long-duration programme involving scientific research, station maintenance and operational activities.
The crew will conduct experiments in microgravity, where researchers study biological processes, materials and other phenomena that can support advances in medicine, technology and future space exploration. They will also monitor station systems and carry out routine maintenance.
Crew-13 will initially work alongside Crew-12 during the handover period before the outgoing astronauts return to Earth, subject to weather and mission conditions.
The mission is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Programme, which uses commercial spacecraft to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit. The ISS also serves as a testing ground for technologies and procedures that could support future human missions to the Moon and Mars.
