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NASA, SpaceX set for Crew-13 launch to International Space Station
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 a.m. Thursday for the launch of the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. - NASA and SpaceX are targeting 11:10 a.m. Thursday for the launch of the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
The mission will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Dragon spacecraft.
Volusia County native joins mission
Big picture view:
The four-person crew consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canada Space Agency's Josh Kutryk and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.
Watkins will serve as spacecraft commander. Delaney, who grew up in Volusia County, will serve as the mission's pilot, while Kutryk and Teteryatnikov will serve as mission specialists.
Members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 pose for a portrait next to the Dragon spacecraft mockup after completing a preflight training session at SpaceX’s facility in Hawthorne, California. (Credit: SpaceX)
Why is Crew-13 going to the ISS?
While at the space station, Crew-13 will perform different scientific experiments to help prepare humans for future exploration missing to the Moon and Mars.
They will live and work on the ISS for about six months. Kutryk will miss the birth of his third child during the mission, a sacrifice officials with the Canadian Space Agency acknowledged while expressing support for the mission.
Crew-13 will take over for Crew-12. The four-person crew—consisting of NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev—have been living on the space station since February.
Weather remains the biggest concern
NASA officials said the crew is ready to fly, with weather posing the primary uncertainty ahead of launch.
The mission was delayed several weeks after engineers discovered an oxidizer leak in the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system. SpaceX said the faulty valve has since been replaced.
If Thursday's launch is postponed, the next opportunity is Friday morning.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by NASA and SpaceX.