SpaceX Crew-13 Sets Fastest U.S. Trip to ISS

A SpaceX Falcon 9 lifted NASA's Crew-13 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral at 11:10 a.m. ET on Oct. 1. Dragon capsule Grace docked with the ISS at 7:05 p.m., 7 hours 55 minutes later, the fastest U.S. trip to the station. Commander Jessica Watkins flies with NASA's Luke Delaney, Canada's Joshua Kutryk, and Russia's Sergey Teteryatnikov. Watkins is the first Black woman to command a crew in orbit and the first NASA astronaut to fly twice on Crew Dragon. They are to spend about six months aboard, replacing Crew-12. Astronauts waved to family, walked the crew access arm, and boarded before SpaceX closed the hatch; Grace later approached with its nose cone open. SpaceX's Julianna Scheiman said the station's orbit allowed a path near the physics limit. The prior U.S. crewed record was 14 hours 43 minutes (Crew-11, August 2025); a 2020 Russian Soyuz holds the world mark at 3 hours 3 minutes. Launch slipped about three weeks after a capsule fuel-system leak. Crew-12 is expected to leave Oct. 5 for a California water landing; one report said return could come as soon as Monday. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said the crew will continue ISS work and build capabilities for deeper exploration.