Crew-13: NASA sets launch time and posts a headline about its arrival at Kennedy

NASA scheduled the Crew-13 mission, operated with SpaceX, for Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 11:10 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Liftoff was planned from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, with the International Space Station (ISS) as its destination. The NASA Live page said coverage would begin at 9:20 a.m. EDT.

NASA’s pages bring together two kinds of information that should be distinguished: a launch and coverage schedule, and a Kennedy Space Center headline saying Crew-13 landed there. NASA Live presents the departure as scheduled; the center’s page includes the phrase “NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Lands at NASA Kennedy.” The calendar gives a planned time, while the headline says the mission landed. The available information does not allow the announced time to be treated as the actual liftoff time or any chronology to be added to that headline.

An international crew headed to the station

NASA named four Crew-13 members: its astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney; Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA); and Sergey Teteryatnikov, a cosmonaut with Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency. The announced destination was the ISS, an orbital station used by international crews.

The mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, a program that relies on collaboration with companies for crewed flights to the station. In the information about Crew-13, SpaceX is listed as the flight provider and NASA as the agency presenting the mission; the ISS is the intended destination. This cooperation brings together crew members associated with three space agencies: NASA, CSA, and Roscosmos.

Announced schedule and broadcasts

In addition to coverage beginning at 9:20 a.m. EDT, NASA Live listed a post-launch news conference for 12:45 p.m. and a 5:20 p.m. broadcast about rendezvous with the station, docking, hatch opening, and welcome remarks aboard. The times are in the U.S. Eastern time zone. They are parts of the broadcast program published by the agency, not an observed chronology of operations.

NASA’s events page also includes Crew-13 in its launch calendar, with the time listed as 11:10 a.m. and the label “Today.” The page’s featured news section includes “NASA Sets Crew-13 Launch, Docking Coverage,” identified as published “2 days ago.” The page was viewed on October 2, 2026. These labels place the information among recent mission coverage, but the specific launch time is still presented as scheduled.

The plan had changed

An update to the ISS flight plan, published by NASA and its partners on May 1, 2026, placed Crew-13 in a mid-September window. The mission was then moving forward from November 2026. The agency linked the change to the goal of increasing the frequency of U.S. crew rotations to the station. The notice described the opportunities as subject to operational readiness.

The October 1 time subsequently published by NASA Live does not match that mid-September window. The documents provided record both stages of planning, but do not explain when the schedule changed or the specific reason for setting October 1. Therefore, mid-September should be understood as a previously announced window from May, and October 1 as the time listed on the coverage page consulted.

What the sources say about the outcome

The Kennedy Space Center page features the headline “NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Lands at NASA Kennedy.” That wording says Crew-13 landed at Kennedy. By contrast, NASA Live describes the October 1 launch as scheduled and lists the activities planned for coverage. Keeping these references separate makes it possible to report the headline about the landing without confusing it with confirmation of the actual departure time or inferring additional details about the journey to the ISS.

Thus, the public information consulted establishes the announced crew, intended destination, location, and scheduled time, as well as the broadcast program. It also records an earlier launch window and a Kennedy headline about a landing. The change in planning dates and the absence of a date associated with the headline in the consulted excerpt limit what can be said about the sequence: the sources allow these announcements to be described, but do not establish here when each operation took place.

Sources: NASA Live; NASA events calendar; Kennedy Space Center; and the May 1, 2026, ISS flight plan update.