NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 reached the International Space Station on October 1, 2026, after a 7-hour, 55-minute journey from launch to docking. The confirmed arrival gives a more useful picture of the mission than its superseded launch targets: four people are now at the laboratory, beginning a long-duration assignment.
What happened, and when?
A Falcon 9 carrying Dragon Grace lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida at 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1. The spacecraft docked to the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at 7:05 p.m. EDT. In Taiwan, those milestones occurred at 11:10 p.m. on October 1 and 7:05 a.m. on October 2. The launch release and the docking report document the two events separately.
The docking report identifies this as the shortest launch-to-docking interval for a U.S. spacecraft visiting the ISS. That is a journey-time record in a specific category, rather than a new record for a spacecraft’s maximum speed. Orbital missions need to reach a moving destination and match its trajectory; an aircraft-style top-speed ranking does not describe that task.
Who is aboard?
Commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney represent NASA. Mission specialists Joshua Kutryk and Sergey Teteryatnikov represent the Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos. Watkins previously flew on Crew-4; this is the first spaceflight for the other three. NASA’s mission background also identifies Grace as the Dragon used for Axiom Mission 4 in 2025.
The work continues after arrival
The expedition’s planned research includes stem-cell-derived tissue studies, plant-growth investigations, blood-flow research and tests of medical diagnostic equipment. These are investigations and technology demonstrations; launch and docking do not establish medical treatments or prove that the systems are ready for Mars.
Crew rotations also support station upkeep and transfer of operational knowledge between expeditions. NASA’s Commercial Crew Program provides the wider transport context. Explore our ISS profile, Falcon 9 guide and rocket-science introduction for the hardware behind this flight.
Source dates: launch and docking reports, October 1, 2026; mission background, September 28, 2026. This independent, AI-assisted brief was checked against the linked primary sources on October 7, 2026.