Crew-13: SpaceX Launces Astronauts On Fastest Dragon Flight To The ISS

SpaceX Falcon 9 launches Dragon 'Grace' Spacecraft on SpaceX Falcon 9 launched Crew Dragon 'Grace' on the Crew-13 mission from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 1510 UTC on Thursday (Oct. 1) carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the International Space Station (ISS). This will be the fastest Crew Dragon flight ever to the orbiting lab, expected to dock with the ISS in about 8 hours.

As planned, about 2.5 minutes after liftoff, the Falcon 9's first stage booster, B1101, separated from the second stage which in short succession, began executing its orbital insertion burn. B1101 performed a simultaneous boostback burn to reset its trajectory for a return and touchdown at landing zone(LZ-40). An entry and landing burn followed, with a successful touchdown about 7 minutes and 40 seconds after liftoff. This was the third launch and recovery of B1101.

Meanwhile the Falcon 9 second-stage engine burn ended about a minute later, wrapping up an orbital insertion maneuver that lasted roughly six minutes. The trip to low earth orbit(LEO) took less than 10 minutes from liftoff. Crew Dragon Grace was released another minute afterward to begin its 8-hour journey to the ISS.

"Thanks for an amazing ride," Mission Commander Watkins told Mission Control shortly after that milestone was reached.

"They say that courage is grace under pressure, and the incredible teams that got us to orbit today truly embody that," she added. "Thank you for your hard work, perseverance, and courageous commitment to ensuring Grace was ready and safe to fly. We carry with us on this journey all of you who have supported us along the way, and we hope to make you proud."

Watkins became the first NASA astronaut to fly twice aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, having previously served on Crew-4 in 2022. Mission pilots Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov are making their first spaceflights.

Typical Crew Dragon missions take 15 to 24 hours to catch up to the space station. For comparison, Russian launch profiles deliver the Soyuz crew capsule to the ISS anywhere between three hours to two days after liftoff. Grace will only have about 7 hours, 50 minutes on orbit before docking with the ISS, setting a new speed record for an American spacecraft.

"We got lucky this time," Julianna Scheiman, director of NASA science and dragon programs at SpaceX, said in the post-launch briefing. "The space station was in an opportune spot in space, and the orbital mechanics, the physics of it all, worked out for it to be the the shortest launch to docking time we've had to date."

The crew will join the ISS for a six-month mission as part of Expedition 75, conducting scientific research, technology demonstrations, and station maintenance. Many of their research will focus on astronaut health and the long-term effects of microgravity on the human body. Other experiments on the Crew-13 docket include studies into stem-cell derived tissues to treat Parkinson's and heart disease, as well as the harvesting of produce in zero-g.

"It was an incredible launch," NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. "This is an absolutely great start to Crew 13. We will be watching very closely, cheering them on throughout their great expedition."

The astronauts' time aboard the ISS is expected to wrap up sometime next year, around February or March, when SpaceX launches NASA's Crew-14 astronauts to replace them. Similarly, Crew-13 will relieve the four Crew-12 astronauts. Crew-13's arrival will signal the beginning of departure preparations for the members of Crew-12, who launched to the ISS about 7.5 months ago — a slightly longer stay than originally anticipated.

Crew-12 was expected to return to Earth last month, but a delay in Crew-13 extended their mission by a few weeks. An oxidizer leak in Grace's propulsion system was discovered in August, prompting NASA and SpaceX to allot more time for prelaunch checkouts and tests.

Grace is the fifth and final Crew Dragon built by SpaceX; it previously flew the private Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) in summer 2025.