Headline USA, adapting Associated Press reporting, said four astronauts blasted into orbit Thursday on a long International Space Station rotation after SpaceX fixed a fuel leak on their Dragon capsule. The mission is slated to run about six months, with the ride to the ISS expected to take roughly eight hours.
Leak fixed, weather clears
According to the report, SpaceX launched after a three‑week delay to repair the capsule’s leaking fuel system. Thick morning clouds threatened the countdown at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, but skies cleared enough for a safe liftoff.
Watkins’ milestone and crew
With the late‑morning launch, Headline USA reported that commander Jessica Watkins became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. A geologist who worked on NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover about a decade ago, Watkins is on her second ISS trip after an extended 2022 stay. “Thanks for an amazing ride,” she radioed after reaching orbit, per the report.
The crew includes three first‑timers in space: NASA’s Luke Delaney, a retired Marine; Canada’s Joshua Kutryk, a Royal Canadian Air Force colonel; and Russia’s Sergey Teteryatnikov, a former submariner. They will replace four astronauts who have been aboard the station since February, the outlet noted.
‘Lucky 13’ theme—plates, patch, and a mascot
This is SpaceX’s 13th crewed launch for NASA, not counting a 2020 test flight, Headline USA said. The astronauts embraced the “Crew‑13” label with a mission patch paying homage to Apollo 13. They rode to the pad in black Teslas with “Lucky 13” plates and carried a small crocheted golden dragon named Lucky, sporting a four‑leaf clover. “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 them “four of the luckiest humans on or off planet Earth,” according to the report.
A father‑to‑be in orbit
The report said Kutryk is expected to become the fourth man to welcome a child while orbiting Earth, with his wife, Heather, due in late November. The Canadian Space Agency pledged support for the family. NASA’s Dana Weigel said on the eve of liftoff that “a lot of life‑changing things can happen over six months,” adding the agency would work to keep Kutryk connected to home. The outlet also cited precedents: NASA linked astronaut Mike Fincke to his daughter’s 2004 birth, while Randy Bresnik phoned in from orbit in 2009; Austrian astronaut Franz Viehböck learned of his child’s 1991 birth the day after launch.
Busy day for SpaceX
Three hours after Crew‑13 lifted off, SpaceX launched a Falcon rocket from California carrying more than 100 mini satellites, the report said. Another Falcon was slated to fly later Thursday night from Florida with a classified National Reconnaissance Office payload. The same week, SpaceX’s Starship reached orbit for the first time, according to Headline USA.
Source: Headline USA (adapted from Associated Press reporting).
