SpaceX Crew-13 Aces Static Fire, Set for Oct. 1 Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — SpaceX has cleared one of the last hurdles before its next astronaut launch, completing an integrated static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket that will carry NASA's Crew-13 mission toward the International Space Station no earlier than 11:10 a.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 1. The rocket rolled out to the pad and was raised vertical on Sept. 27, and teams have since wrapped up the brief engine test-firing and the data reviews that keep a crewed countdown on schedule.

The milestone caps a remarkable stretch for the company, arriving just days after Starship reached orbit for the first time on Flight 14. It is a reminder of how routine crewed Dragon flights have become even as SpaceX pushes its far larger next-generation vehicle toward operational service.

A Veteran Commander and Three Rookies

Leading the mission is NASA commander Jessica Watkins, who is set to become the first NASA astronaut to launch aboard a Crew Dragon twice. Alongside her, NASA pilot Luke Delaney, mission specialist Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and mission specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos will all be making their first trips to orbit.

The international makeup of the crew reflects the steady cadence of the Commercial Crew Program, which SpaceX has anchored since 2020. Once on station, the four will relieve the Crew-12 team and settle into a science expedition expected to run about six months.

Cleared at the Pad

The static fire was conducted at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where the Falcon 9 briefly ignited its first-stage engines while clamped to the pad so engineers could confirm the vehicle's health before flight. NASA and SpaceX teams reviewed the resulting data and reported no issues that would stand in the way of a Thursday liftoff, according to NASA's Commercial Crew update.

Weather remains the main variable, as it does for any Florida launch, but the vehicle and the Dragon spacecraft are ready. After liftoff, Dragon will chase the station and dock autonomously roughly a day later.

A Packed Fall for SpaceX

Crew-13 is one of several high-tempo missions on SpaceX's manifest this autumn, a list that also includes national-security work such as the recently flown USSF-385 mission from California and a relentless run of Starlink deployments.

If the countdown holds, Thursday's launch will extend SpaceX's streak of safely ferrying astronauts to orbit — a quiet but foundational business that keeps humans flying on American rockets while the company reaches for the Moon and Mars with Starship.