New Crew Members Arrive at the International Space Station
This handout photo from the European Space Agency (ESA) shows ESA French astronaut Sophie Adenot at work during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS).
Four new crew members from the SpaceX Crew-13 mission docked successfully at the International Space Station (ISS) on October 1, after a fast-paced journey. The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, at 11:10 AM local time and reached the ISS just under eight hours later, setting a record for the quickest trip by a US spacecraft to the station.
In a livestream on NASA TV, the Crew-13 astronauts—Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk, and Sergey Teteryatnikov—expressed their excitement about their mission. Watkins remarked, “We are so excited to be here. This is truly a special place,” highlighting the irony of how quickly they arrived after such a long journey.
Canadian astronaut Kutryk shared his sentiment about representing Canada in space, noting that he was eager to begin his mission after getting some much-needed rest.
Originally scheduled to arrive in mid-September, the Crew-13 launch was delayed due to a leak aboard the Dragon capsule. They will replace the current ISS crew, which includes astronauts Jessica Meir, Jack Hathaway, Sophie Adenot, and Andrey Fedyaev.
With the ISS continuously inhabited for the past 25 years, it’s set to be decommissioned around 2030. Despite geopolitical tensions, international cooperation in space continues, with the US and Russia working together on the ISS.
Upcoming Highlights:
- Crew-12 is expected to return to Earth soon, depending on weather conditions.
- Kutryk has a personal milestone to anticipate—his wife is due to give birth during his mission in space.
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