Nasa to launch three astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut to space today

Nasa, SpaceX and international partner teams have given the green light for the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), clearing the way for four astronauts and cosmonauts to begin a six-month stay in orbit.

Mission managers completed the Launch Readiness Review, a final assessment of the spacecraft, rocket, ground systems, crew and weather conditions, before polling teams on whether to proceed with the launch. The teams returned a unanimous “go” to continue the countdown.

Crew-13 is now targeting liftoff no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, October 1, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Crew-13 astronauts are ready for launch to the Space Station. (Photo: Nasa)

The crew will travel aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, continuing Nasa and SpaceX’s commercial crew operations to the space station.

The four-member crew includes Nasa astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

Once in orbit, the crew will head toward the ISS, where they are scheduled to spend approximately six months conducting research, supporting station operations and carrying out maintenance and other activities aboard the orbital laboratory.

The launch readiness review is one of the key milestones before liftoff.New crew soon!Crew-13 is scheduled to launch to the @Space_Station tomorrow, Oct. 1. Live coverage begins here at 9:20am ET (1320 UTC)—tune in to watch liftoff at 11:10am ET (1510 UTC). pic.twitter.com/SiAimIf4k1— NASA (@NASA) September 30, 2026

During the process, teams from Nasa, SpaceX and international partners assess whether the mission is ready to proceed, reviewing everything from the Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft to launch infrastructure and operational preparations.

With the review complete and the mission declared “go,” teams will now move into the final stages of launch preparations.

The Crew-13 mission also highlights the increasingly international nature of operations aboard the ISS, bringing together astronauts from Nasa, the Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos on the same mission.

If the launch takes place as planned, Falcon 9 will carry the Dragon spacecraft into orbit before the spacecraft begins its journey toward the space station.

For the four crew members, however, the launch will mark only the beginning of a much longer journey, six months living and working hundreds of kilometres above Earth aboard humanity’s permanently occupied laboratory in space.- Ends