Four astronauts reached the International Space Station after an eight-hour SpaceX flight that set a new U.S. speed record for a crewed trip to the orbiting laboratory.
The Crew-13 mission was led by NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins, who became the first Black woman to command a crew to orbit. SpaceX launched Watkins and her three crewmates from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station following a three-week delay linked to repairs on the Dragon capsule’s leaking fuel system.
“Thanks for an amazing ride,” Watkins radioed after liftoff.
The crew arrived at the ISS roughly eight hours after launch, making the trip the fastest by an American spacecraft to the station. The station’s position at the time of launch helped shorten the transit.
Watkins is joined by NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov are making their first trips to space, while Watkins is returning to the ISS after a previous long-duration mission in 2022.
The four astronauts are expected to spend about six months aboard the station, replacing another crew that has been living there since February.
Watkins, a geologist who previously worked with NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity, also marked another milestone by becoming the first Black woman to lead a crew into orbit.
The mission is SpaceX’s 13th operational crew launch for NASA, excluding its 2020 test flight. Crew-13 also carried references to Apollo 13, including a mission patch inspired by the historic lunar mission and a small crocheted golden dragon named Lucky.
“We figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring a little of our own luck just in case, but clearly we don’t need it,” Watkins said from orbit,
calling the crew “four of the luckiest humans on or off planet Earth.
Crew-13 launched during a busy week for SpaceX, which also sent more than 100 small satellites into orbit from California and prepared another Falcon launch from Florida. The company’s Starship had also reached orbit for the first time earlier in the week.
