SpaceX Crew-13 Rocket Goes Vertical at Cape Canaveral Ahead of Thursday Launch to Space Station

NASA's next astronaut crew is one step from leaving Florida. The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft for NASA's SpaceX Crew-13 mission rolled out to Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday, Sept. 27, and teams raised the rocket to vertical, according to NASA. Liftoff is targeted for no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 1, a date that comes roughly a month after an oxidizer leak in Dragon's propulsion system forced NASA and SpaceX to push the flight back. For the Space Coast, it means another crewed launch visible across Brevard County and much of Central Florida, and another test of the region's role as the nation's only active launch site for astronauts.

What NASA announced

In a Sept. 28 update, NASA said the Falcon 9 and Dragon for Crew-13 had arrived at the pad the previous day and been raised into launch position at Space Launch Complex 40. The agency is targeting no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT Thursday for liftoff, the time dictated by the orbital position of the International Space Station.

If the rocket flies on Thursday, the crew is scheduled to reach the station in less than nine hours, according to NASA. Docking is planned for about 8 p.m. EDT at the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module, the same port used by many previous Crew Dragon flights.

The launch day follows a series of steps NASA has documented over the past week. The agency posted on Sept. 22 that NASA and SpaceX were moving into final prelaunch preparations aimed at an Oct. 1 liftoff, then reported on Sept. 26 that the four Crew-13 astronauts had flown in and landed at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. A Sept. 25 update said the two organizations were proceeding toward launch.

As with every crewed flight, the target is not a guarantee. Weather at the pad, conditions along the Dragon's ascent corridor over the Atlantic, and any last-minute technical issue can all push a launch to a later day, and NASA typically confirms backup opportunities as launch day approaches.

Who is on board

Crew-13 is a four-person, international crew. NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will serve as spacecraft commander and NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will serve as pilot, according to NASA. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov will fly as mission specialists.

Watkins is a veteran of a previous long-duration stay on the space station, having flown on NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission in 2022. As commander, she will be responsible for the Dragon during launch, rendezvous, docking and the eventual return to Earth.

The crew's makeup reflects the partnerships that keep the space station running. Canada has long contributed robotics and astronauts to the program, and the seat for a Roscosmos cosmonaut on a U.S. commercial vehicle continues an integrated crew arrangement in which Russian cosmonauts fly on American spacecraft and NASA astronauts fly on Russian Soyuz vehicles, so that each side has trained crew members aboard if one vehicle is unavailable.

Once aboard, the Crew-13 astronauts will join the station's Expedition 75 crew, according to NASA, and will spend months conducting research, maintenance and possible spacewalks before returning to Earth aboard the same Dragon.

The leak that delayed the mission

Crew-13 was supposed to be flying weeks ago. In late August, NASA announced it was adjusting the launch date after teams identified an oxidizer leak in Dragon's propulsion system during standard prelaunch processing. NASA's Kennedy Space Center said at the time that mission teams were assessing upcoming launch opportunities and would announce a new target date once one was available.

Reporting at the time, including from Spectrum News 13 in Orlando, said the problem was traced to a leaky valve and that the repair could take two to four weeks. The mission had previously been planned for mid-September, and NASA later listed it as no earlier than late September before settling on Oct. 1.

Dragon's propulsion system includes the thrusters the capsule uses to maneuver in orbit, approach and dock with the station, and position itself for reentry, along with the engines that would carry the crew away from a failing rocket in an emergency. Because the system handles hypergolic propellants that ignite on contact, even a small leak is treated seriously, and NASA and SpaceX have historically chosen to stand down rather than fly with an unresolved propulsion concern.

The Florida Press previously reported on that delay. The rollout and vertical positioning this week are the clearest sign yet that the fix has been completed and that the mission has cleared the reviews needed to proceed toward launch.

Why Space Launch Complex 40 matters

Crew-13 is launching from Space Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, not from Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A a few miles north. SpaceX added a crew access tower and walkway at SLC-40 so that it could launch astronauts from either pad, and NASA's SpaceX Crew-9 mission in 2024 became the first crewed flight to lift off from the site.

Having two crew-capable pads gives SpaceX flexibility on a crowded Space Coast. Pad 39A also supports Falcon Heavy and other heavy-lift missions, and SLC-40 handles a steady cadence of Falcon 9 launches, including frequent Starlink satellite flights. Being able to route astronaut missions to either pad reduces the chance that one pad's maintenance or another customer's mission delays a crew rotation.

For spectators, the location shifts the best viewing angles somewhat to the south. Launches from SLC-40 are widely visible from public areas in Titusville, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Port Canaveral and Merritt Island, and on a clear day a Falcon 9 climbing out over the Atlantic can be seen from much farther away along both coasts.

What the launch means for the Space Coast

Crewed launches remain among the biggest single-day draws on the Space Coast. Hotels, restaurants and parks along the Indian River and the beaches typically fill with visitors on crew launch days, and local tourism officials have spent years marketing Brevard County as a destination built around the launch schedule.

The economic footprint goes well beyond launch-day crowds. Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and the commercial companies that operate there employ thousands of engineers, technicians and support workers across Brevard, Orange, Volusia and surrounding counties. SpaceX processes and refurbishes Falcon 9 boosters and Dragon capsules in Florida, and Dragon capsules returning from the station now typically splash down in the Pacific Ocean off California before heading back east for refurbishment.

Each crew rotation also reinforces a larger point for Florida: the Space Coast is the only place in the United States currently launching people to orbit. That status underpins state and local investment in spaceport infrastructure and helps attract suppliers and startups that want to be close to the launch pads.

How to watch and what to expect

NASA typically provides live coverage of crewed launches on its streaming platforms beginning a few hours before liftoff, including views of the crew suiting up, walking out to the pad and boarding the Dragon. SpaceX usually carries its own webcast as well.

Residents planning to watch in person should expect heavy traffic on State Road 528, State Road 401 and U.S. 1 near Titusville and Cape Canaveral on launch morning. Popular public viewing areas include Space View Park in Titusville, Max Brewer Bridge, Jetty Park near Port Canaveral and stretches of Cocoa Beach, although access and parking rules vary by location.

After liftoff, the Falcon 9's first stage is expected to attempt a landing, which in many missions produces sonic booms heard across parts of Brevard County. NASA and SpaceX announce the booster recovery plan in their launch-day materials, and residents are typically advised that a landing near the coast may generate booms loud enough to rattle windows.

A morning launch time also means the rocket will likely be climbing into daylight rather than producing the glowing twilight plume that makes some evening launches so striking from across the state.

The bigger picture for NASA's crew program

Crew-13 continues a rotation schedule that has relied heavily on SpaceX since the company began flying NASA astronauts in 2020. NASA's Commercial Crew Program was designed to have two providers, and the agency has worked for years with Boeing on its Starliner spacecraft, but SpaceX's Dragon has flown the vast majority of U.S. crew rotations to the station.

That dependence is part of why any Dragon problem draws close scrutiny. A propulsion issue on a single capsule can ripple through the station's crew schedule, affecting when the outgoing crew returns home and how long astronauts already aboard must stay.

The International Space Station itself is in its final years of planned operation. NASA has said it intends to retire the station around the end of the decade and has contracted with SpaceX to build a vehicle to guide it to a controlled reentry, while commercial companies develop private stations meant to succeed it. Several of those companies have strong ties to Florida's Space Coast, which is positioning itself to launch crews and cargo to whatever outposts follow.

What's next

The immediate milestone is the launch readiness process in the final days before liftoff, along with the Space Force's 45th Weather Squadron forecast for Thursday morning. If conditions and hardware cooperate, Crew-13 will lift off at 11:10 a.m. EDT on Oct. 1 and dock at the station about nine hours later.

Should a scrub occur, NASA and SpaceX will announce the next opportunity, which would depend on the station's orbit, pad availability and weather. Space Coast residents and visitors should watch NASA's official channels for any change before heading out to viewing sites.

Once Crew-13 is safely aboard the station and the handover with the outgoing crew is complete, attention will turn to that crew's return to Earth aboard its own Dragon, and to the next wave of Florida launches on the Cape's busy fall manifest.