Briefs · Frontier Science
Four Astronauts, One Second-Hand Dragon, and a Date That Was Holding
Four astronauts, one second-hand Dragon, and a launch date that — as of mid-August — was holding firm.
NASA and SpaceX are on track to launch Crew-13 to the International Space Station no earlier than 12 September, from Cape Canaveral’s Space Launch Complex 40. Commander Jessica Watkins and pilot Luke Delaney of NASA will fly with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Josh Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov aboard Dragon Grace — only the second crew to fly the capsule.
The mission is a seven-month stay, part of Expeditions 75 and 76, with station maintenance and spacewalks on the docket. Kutryk becomes the first Canadian to fly under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. Final integration of the Dragon is complete; the Falcon 9 booster previously flew Crew-12.
Conclusion: Crew-13 is not a maiden voyage, but rather a commute — and that, after thirteen commercial crew flights, is precisely the achievement.
Read the original at Space.com
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