SpaceX successfully launched a four-member international crew to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida, using a Falcon 9 rocket. This mission is the 13th long-duration crew deployment to the ISS by SpaceX since the company started transporting NASA astronauts to orbit in 2020.
The crew aboard the Crew Dragon spacecraft consists of NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Their journey to the space station is expected to take approximately eight hours, after which they will dock with the ISS.
Jessica Watkins, a geologist-turned-astronaut, is making her second spaceflight, becoming the first NASA astronaut to fly twice aboard a Crew Dragon. Her colleagues, Delaney, Kutryk, and Teteryatnikov, are embarking on their inaugural space missions.
Once on the ISS, the astronauts will join the existing crew and conduct scientific research focusing on human health and performance in microgravity. Their studies will examine blood circulation and clotting, alongside collecting vital health data intended to support future long-duration space missions.
This mission also coincides with the ongoing transition of personnel aboard the orbital laboratory. Members of the previous crew, who have spent over seven months in space, are expected to return to Earth soon after the new crew’s arrival.