NASA and SpaceX launched four astronauts aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a mission to the International Space Station that is expected to set a speed record for an American crewed flight to the orbiting laboratory. The Crew-13 mission lifted off on Thursday, Oct. 1, at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Time, carrying NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
The trip to the station is calculated at approximately seven hours and fifty minutes, which would make it the fastest journey by a U.S. spacecraft to the orbital outpost in the history of the International Space Station. The four crew members are scheduled to join the station's Expedition 75 crew and spend about six months conducting research, supporting maintenance of the orbiting laboratory, and working on technology demonstrations.
The experiments planned for the mission are intended to advance technology for future Moon and Mars missions while also improving life on Earth. According to NASA, the crew will help researchers study human stem-cell derived tissues to improve medicine, disease modeling, and pharmaceutical testing, with a focus on heart disease and Parkinson's disease. They will also explore crop production, which is important for longer-duration spaceflight missions, help scientists better understand blood flow abnormalities seen in space, and test new diagnostic medical equipment for monitoring crew health.
Kutryk, a former CF-18 fighter pilot, will serve as a mission specialist on Crew-13, assisting with spacecraft operations, scientific research, and maintenance on the station. He becomes the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to participate in NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Born in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Kutryk holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and master's degrees in space studies, flight test engineering, and defense studies. He was recruited by the Canadian Space Agency in July 2017 and received his official astronaut title in 2020 after graduating from astronaut candidate training. That same year, he was appointed operations officer for the NASA Astronaut Office in Texas and became certified as a capcom.
The launch continues a busy period for Canadian spaceflight. Months after Jeremy Hansen became the first Canadian astronaut assigned to a moon mission, Kutryk is heading to the space station for a six-month stay. The mission's launch was streamed live on NASA's website and YouTube channel.
After Crew-13 arrives, the four astronauts will begin a quick handover with NASA's SpaceX Crew-12, which launched on Feb. 13 and is preparing to return to Earth. The Crew-13 mission is the latest rotation of astronauts to the station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, which relies on SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft to ferry crews to and from low Earth orbit.
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