SpaceX Crew-13 reaches ISS in record eight-hour flight

SpaceX lifted off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday, delivering four crew members to the International Space Station after an eight-hour transit, the fastest for any U.S. entity. The launch followed a three-week delay to repair a fuel-system leak in the Dragon capsule and brief cloud cover that threatened the countdown.

Commander Jessica Watkins, a geologist who previously worked on the Curiosity rover, led the mission, becoming the first Black woman to command a crew to orbit. The other members were NASA astronaut Luke Delaney, a retired Marine; Canadian colonel Joshua Kutryk; and Russian former submariner Sergey Teteryatnikov. They will replace four astronauts who have been aboard the station since February.

"Thanks for an amazing ride," Watkins said over the radio after liftoff.

The crew, designated Crew-13, referenced the historic Apollo 13 mission in their patch. Kutryk’s wife is due to give birth while he is in orbit, and NASA manager Dana Weigel said the agency will keep him informed throughout the six-month stay.

SpaceX also conducted additional launches on the same day, including a Falcon rocket carrying more than 100 small satellites from California and a classified mission for the National Reconnaissance Office from Florida. The week followed the company's first orbital flight of its Starship vehicle.