NASA’s Crew-13 rocket reaches launch pad ahead of October 1 target

NASA says the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for its SpaceX Crew-13 mission reached their Cape Canaveral launch pad on Sunday, September 27, and were raised vertical. The agency reported on Monday that teams had conducted a static fire there, moving the four-person mission through another preparation step before a possible October 1 flight to the International Space Station.

The rocket is at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. NASA gives 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 1, as the earliest liftoff opportunity. That is a target, rather than a confirmed departure: the agency’s latest update describes the vehicle at the pad and says operations teams carried out detailed data reviews after the test.

The pad test and remaining preparation

NASA describes the engine test as an integrated static fire involving rocket and ground systems engineering teams. Its September 28 account says the test took place at the pad, followed by detailed reviews of the data. The update does not report the findings of those reviews or announce final launch clearance, so the completion of the test should not be read as confirmation that every preflight decision has been made.

The test follows a Flight Readiness Review held by NASA and SpaceX at Kennedy Space Center on Friday, September 25, according to Spaceflight Now. That review considered readiness to proceed with the last stages of launch preparation. Reporting before the engine test, Spaceflight Now said a launch-day rehearsal with the crew was planned for Tuesday, September 29. The cited accounts do not establish that the rehearsal has happened.

A launch delayed by a spacecraft leak

Crew-13 had initially been slated to launch on September 12, Spaceflight Now reported. The mission was delayed after an oxidizer leak was found in its Dragon spacecraft, named Grace. The outlet cited a September 16 NASA update saying SpaceX had replaced an oxidizer valve in Dragon’s propulsion system after the leak was detected during processing. Its report said NASA’s cited updates supplied no further repair details.

At the crew’s Florida arrival, mission commander Jessica Watkins told Spaceflight Now that she was grateful to the ground teams that identified the vehicle issue while there was time to address it. She also praised the teams that determined what she described as the safest way to fix it. Her comments speak to the repair effort; they do not supply additional technical findings about the leak.

The delay also matters for the astronauts already aboard the station. Space.com reported on September 17 that the outgoing Crew-12 astronauts were continuing their work there while awaiting their replacements. Under the rotation described in that report, Crew-12 would remain aboard for a brief overlap after Crew-13 safely arrived. At the time of that reporting, a return date for Crew-12 had not been set.

Who is flying and why the mission matters

Watkins and Luke Delaney are the two NASA astronauts assigned to Crew-13. They will fly with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Watkins is making her second spaceflight; NASA says she would become the first NASA astronaut to launch on a SpaceX Dragon twice. Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov are preparing for their first trips to space.

Watkins told Spaceflight Now that the four had trained together for more than a year and were ready to join Expedition 75 aboard the International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency says the crew is expected to live and work on the station for approximately six months, conducting scientific research and testing new technologies. Those activities depend on the crew first launching and reaching the station.

For Canada, Kutryk’s seat marks the first planned spaceflight by a Canadian Space Agency astronaut under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, according to the agency. The CSA says he would be its fourth astronaut to undertake a long-duration station mission. Its mission account identifies Robert Thirsk, Chris Hadfield and David Saint-Jacques as the three earlier CSA astronauts in that category.

The CSA describes Crew-13 as the 13th crew rotation mission using SpaceX’s human space transportation system. Counting the Demo-2 test flight, it says this would be the system’s 14th astronaut flight to the station under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Those mission numbers describe the planned flight, not one already completed.

What happens next

The immediate schedule remains conditional. Spaceflight Now reported a crew rehearsal planned for September 29, while NASA’s September 28 account confirms the rocket is vertical and the static fire has taken place. NASA has not supplied the data-review findings in that account. Its stated launch opportunity remains no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1.

The scheduled flight would take the four crew members to the station for a long-duration mission. Until NASA and SpaceX complete the remaining preparations and launch, the October 1 time is an earliest opportunity. The available updates establish progress at the pad and the reported valve replacement, but give no further explanation of the leak or a final account of launch readiness.