NASA provides update on SpaceX Crew‑13 mission to the International Space Station

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – NASA provided an update Monday from the Johnson Space Center in Houston on the SpaceX Crew‑13 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).

Timeline:

A SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will launch on a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida no earlier than mid-September.

What we know:

The Crew-13 mission will carry NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency (CSA) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov to the ISS. 

The crew will participate in a number of science experiments, potential space walks, and ISS maintenance.

During the briefing, NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who will serve as commander, discussed the mission and pilot Luke Delaney gave an overview of the science studies that will be taking place. 

What they’re saying:

“I personally am looking forward to returning to the ISS, as well as flying on Dragon a second time, and really looking forward to experiencing those experiences through the eyes of my crew mates. We will be joining Expedition 75, already in progress on board the International Space Station. Already doing amazing work. We’ll be contributing to that as well, taking the baton from Crew 12 and continuing to participate in our continuous human presence on ISS,” said Watkins.

“We’ll be looking to characterize, help characterize some blood flow in a microgravity environment, also fluid shift and how that impacts vision. We’ll have those studies going on. And outside of that, we’ll be looking to characterize stem cells. So some stem cell growth studies will be going on with plants as well. So we’re looking for developing plant habitats potentially aboard the station throughout station if we desire, but also in a sustainable habitat that’ll be up there as well,” said Delaney.

Dig deeper:

Crew-13 is the 13th crew rotation mission of SpaceX’s human space transportation system and the 14th flight with astronauts, including the Demo-2 test flight, to the space station through NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. 

Meet the members of the Crew-13 mission

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 members are pictured in their pressure suits seated inside a mockup Dragon spacecraft during a preflight training session at the company’s headquarters in Hawthorne, California. From left are Roscosmos Sergey Teteryatnikov, NASA

The four-person crew selected for the mission include:

Jessica Watkins, a NASA astronaut, who will serve as commander of the mission.

Luke Delaney, a NASA astronaut, who will serve as pilot.

Joshua Kutryk, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut, who will serve as a mission specialist.

Sergey Teteryatnikov, a Roscosmos cosmonaut from Russia, who will also serve as a mission specialist.