NASA sets Crew-13 launch and docking coverage for October 1

NASA said on September 29 that it will provide live coverage of the Crew-13 launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida and the spacecraft’s docking with the International Space Station. The four-person mission is scheduled to lift off at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 1. For viewers, the announcement sets out when to follow the countdown, launch and arrival, although the flight and broadcast times may change.

The launch is planned from Space Launch Complex 40 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the crew traveling in a Dragon spacecraft. NASA’s advisory lists a docking target of about 7 p.m. EDT on October 1 at the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module. Both times are targets for a flight that has yet to take place.

How to watch the Crew-13 launch and docking

NASA’s launch-day schedule puts the start of launch coverage at 9:20 a.m. EDT, ahead of the 11:10 a.m. liftoff target. A separate entry in the same advisory says streaming on the NASA website begins at 9:10 a.m. EDT, alongside blog updates as countdown milestones occur. Viewers should check NASA’s live platforms for the current broadcast rather than assume those two listed start times describe the same feed.

NASA says it will make launch coverage available through its online viewing platforms, including NASA+. Its coverage advisory directs viewers to its live page for viewing options. The agency also plans to provide a video feed of the launch complex roughly six hours before liftoff, followed by its prelaunch broadcast about two hours before launch, provided there are no technical interruptions.

The agency has also scheduled a prelaunch news conference for 5 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 30, and a postlaunch news conference for 12:45 p.m. EDT on October 1. Representatives of NASA, the Canadian Space Agency and SpaceX are among those listed to take part. The full timetable is in NASA’s coverage advisory.

Who is flying on Crew-13

The crew comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. NASA identifies Watkins as commander and Delaney as pilot, with Kutryk and Teteryatnikov serving as mission specialists. Their destination is the International Space Station for a long-duration science mission.

The Canadian Space Agency says Kutryk’s flight will be its first astronaut mission under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. He is set to become the fourth Canadian Space Agency astronaut to take part in a long-term station mission. The agency expects him to spend approximately six months aboard, conducting scientific experiments and testing technologies. That is an estimate for the planned mission, not a confirmed return date.

NASA describes Crew-13 as SpaceX’s 13th crew rotation mission for the agency and its 14th astronaut flight to the station when the Demo-2 test flight is counted. The rotation will bring a new group to the orbiting laboratory before the Crew-12 astronauts depart. NASA says the crews will have a brief handover after Crew-13 arrives.

Why the October 1 launch is a revised target

The October 1 date follows an earlier delay. Space.com reported on September 23 that the original September 12 launch target was dropped after NASA disclosed an oxidizer leak in the Crew-13 Dragon spacecraft’s propulsion system on August 29. According to that report, NASA set the new October 1 target on September 22. The earlier report explains the schedule change; NASA’s September 29 advisory supplies the latest coverage plan.

NASA reported that the four crew members arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 26, after traveling from Johnson Space Center in Houston. It said they would spend their remaining prelaunch days in quarantine and final preparations. Their arrival put them near the launch site, but did not make the October 1 liftoff certain.

If launch and rendezvous follow NASA’s current plan, the trip from liftoff to docking will take seven hours and 50 minutes. NASA says that would be the fastest journey to the station by a U.S. spacecraft in its history. The distinction depends on the actual flight; for now, it describes the planned transit rather than a record already achieved.

What happens after Crew-13 reaches the station

NASA expects Crew-13 to conduct a brief handover with Crew-12 after docking. Its September 29 advisory says Crew-12 is expected to begin returning to Earth no earlier than Monday, October 5, and that further return details will follow Crew-13’s arrival. Space.com identifies the departing crew as NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency astronaut Sophie Adenot and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

For anyone following the mission, the next scheduled milestones are the September 30 briefing, the October 1 countdown and launch coverage, and the planned docking broadcast later that day. NASA says its published times are estimates subject to real-time operations. The agency’s live coverage and station updates will carry any changes as the launch and flight unfold.