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SpaceX Crew-13 Astronauts Arrive in Florida for ISS Mission
Confirmed
In Short: Four astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday to prepare for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission.
Four astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday to prepare for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission.
The crew includes NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who will command the mission, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
Watkins, who is making her second trip to space, said, “Arriving here today for us as a crew represents both the culmination and the beginning of a journey for us. We’ve been training together as a crew for over a year now, so it is the culmination of all of that work and effort, and we’re so grateful to the teams of experts around the world that have gotten us prepared and ready for this.”
Delaney, a Florida native, expressed his excitement about returning to his home state for the mission. He said, “Coming here in Kennedy, coming back to Florida, it’s definitely near and dear to my heart. I did grow up pretty close to here. I got to watch Space Shuttle launches, and now I’m going to get to see it from a little bit different perspective, I think, in the coming days.”
The crew will join Expedition 75 for an approximately six-month stay aboard the ISS. SpaceX and NASA are targeting an Oct. 1 launch for Crew-13, with liftoff no earlier than 11:10 a.m. from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
SpaceX will launch the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster with the tail number B1101. The mission will also include an engine test of the Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday and a launch day rehearsal with the crew on Tuesday.
Docking is scheduled to occur about eight hours after launch, the shortest transit time ever for a Dragon spacecraft.
The mission is also a significant milestone for the Canadian Space Agency, as it marks the return of a Canadian astronaut to the ISS after a gap of several years.
What this adds
This report adds details about the crew's arrival and preparations for the SpaceX Crew-13 mission, including quotes from the astronauts and specific launch plans. It also highlights the significance of the mission for the Canadian Space Agency.
Background
Four astronauts arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday to prepare for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station as part of the SpaceX Crew-13 mission.
Four astronauts arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for their upcoming mission to the International Space Station.
What's confirmed
- Fla. – Four space travelers are preparing for departure to the International Space Station.
- Thursday, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
What's still developing
- Crew-13 is the 13th crew rotation mission of SpaceX's human space transportation system and its 14th flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA's Commercial Crew Program.
- Read through the key milestones leading up to and through liftoff on the agency's SpaceX Crew-13 mission blog.
- Station Quartet Preps for Departure Amidst Air and Water Quality Checks Weather 60% ‘Go’ for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Launch NASA, Boeing Share Update on Commercial Starliner Development Plans NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery.
- NASA announced the delay in an Aug. 29 Commercial Crew Program (CCP) blog post.
- Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk and NASA astronaut Luke Delany piloted a pair of T-38 jets from NASA’s Johnson Space Center and landed at the Launch and Landing Facility under a largely cloud-less sky and with a light breeze.
- 12, but an oxidizer leak in their Dragon spacecraft, Grace, caused NASA and SpaceX to delay the mission while repairs were made.
- “So truly excited to be here, truly thankful for all the teams that have made it happen, and just a shout out to our aircraft operations folks today that got us the jets and everything together and made it work out a perfect flight over here today.” The mission is also a longtime coming for Kutryk and another big moment for CSA.
- Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron forecasts a 60% chance of favorable conditions for launch.
- Joshua Kutryk | Mission Specialist (Canadian Space Agency) A colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force, Kutryk is a seasoned fighter pilot and experimental test pilot with more than 4,000 hours of flying experience on more than 40 aircraft types.
- The mission launched the first two of six Earth observation satellites built by Maxar Space Systems.
- Delaney grew up in Central Florida and said watching the space shuttle launches was a big inspiration for him and helped influence his life’s trajectory.
- “Growing up watching shuttle launches, they weren’t quite as frequent back then, so it was a pretty big deal if you’re able to catch a space shuttle launch. And they definitely played a part in driving me towards both engineering background a little bit, plus aviation and those kind of things,” Delaney said.