SpaceX Crew‑13 launches four astronauts for six‑month International Space Station mission

# What happened

# Who is on the flight

• Jessica Watkins, mission commander (NASA). Watkins holds a Ph.D. in geology and previously flew to space on a Crew Dragon in 2022. She is the only crew member on Crew‑13 with prior spaceflight experience.
• Luke Delaney, pilot (NASA). Delaney is a former military test pilot and this is his first spaceflight.
• Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut. Kutryk is a former military test pilot and the 17th Canadian in space. His family is expecting a third child around Thanksgiving while he is on orbit.

# Why the launch was delayed The launch was originally scheduled for mid‑September but was postponed to replace a leaking valve in the Crew Dragon propulsion system. Officials retained the delay to address the issue before flight.

# Launch and ascent profile

# Crew remarks and context Pilot Luke Delaney radioed celebratory remarks after separation, calling the ascent "an epic ride" and thanking family and fellow service members. Joshua Kutryk spoke about the ISS as a visible example of international cooperation and engineering complexity, and noted personal strain leaving family behind for a long-duration mission.

# Family and human interest Kutryk and his wife Heather have two children, ages 5 and 7, and are expecting a third child while he is in space. Kutryk posted about the difficulty of leaving his family and quoted explorer Fridtjof Nansen to express the emotional weight of the departure.

# Mission context The four newcomers will join the ISS crew roster to continue scientific research, maintenance, and station operations for roughly six months. The mission continues the long streak of continuous human presence in low Earth orbit aboard the ISS.

# What to watch next

• On‑orbit activities: the crew will carry out scheduled station experiments and maintenance tasks during their six‑month increment.

# Visuals and media Launch imagery captured both ascent and the Falcon 9 first‑stage landing. Crew arrival imagery and departure events were expected to follow as the capsule approached and docked at the station.