NASA and SpaceX are preparing for the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station. The launch of the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral is scheduled for 11:10 a.m. EDT. The mission will carry a crew of four for a six-month expedition, with docking expected eight hours after liftoff.
The crew includes NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who is the first to fly twice on a SpaceX Dragon, alongside Luke Delaney, Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. They will travel aboard the Dragon spacecraft named Grace.
The mission utilizes a Falcon 9 first-stage booster, tail number B1101, marking its third flight. Following the launch, the booster is set to land at Landing Zone 40. This attempt would represent the 664th Falcon booster landing to date.
Meteorologists from the 45th Weather Squadron estimate a 55 percent chance of favorable weather conditions for the launch. Potential interference from clouds and rain remains a primary concern for the launch window on Thursday morning.
