Crew-13 arrives at Kennedy for its final launch preparations
The four Crew-13 astronauts flew from Houston to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 26 and arrived in T-38 jets. They are continuing quarantine and prelaunch work there. NASA’s current target is an October 1 launch to the International Space Station, and that date remains conditional. Arrival is a completed step beyond the flight-readiness review reported in the previous science edition; it does not mean the spacecraft has launched.
Science··Midday
The journey is complete
The four members of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 reached Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 26, flying from the Houston area in T-38 jets. NASA had announced the journey that morning and expected them at Kennedy in the afternoon; a Spectrum News reporter at the site subsequently reported their arrival. That sequence matters because yesterday’s science Brief ended with the arrival still scheduled. The team is now at the launch centre, a completed preparation step beyond the earlier flight-readiness review, though it has not boarded a spacecraft for launch. The crew comprises NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, the commander, and Luke Delaney, the pilot, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov as mission specialists. Spectrum says they arrived at Kennedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility and spoke to reporters there. NASA’s earlier post identifies the same four people and the same destination, but it was issued while they were still on the way; it does not independently establish that they had landed.[1], [2]
Kennedy is a preparation stop
NASA says the astronauts are to continue quarantine and final prelaunch preparations in Kennedy’s Astronaut Crew Quarters. Their arrival places them near the flight operation, but it is not a final clearance of every remaining launch condition. Spectrum’s report describes the landing and a subsequent press exchange. Delaney, who has roots in nearby Volusia County, spoke about returning close to home; Watkins discussed how Earth observations from the station might inform future lunar work. These remarks came after the travel reported by NASA and are separate from the previous day’s readiness decision. The practical change for readers tracking the mission is location: the crew is no longer merely due at Kennedy. It can carry out the remaining preparation period there. A photograph or statement from the arrival does not show the Falcon 9 has lifted off or that the Dragon crew vehicle has reached the International Space Station. Those are later milestones, and the reporting available by this edition closes only the travel leg.[1], [2]
October remains a target
NASA’s earliest launch target in its September 26 travel notice is October 1, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission would take the four astronauts to the International Space Station for a lengthy stay. That target can still change as teams finish preparation and assess launch-day conditions. The current event is narrower and firmer: the four astronauts arrived in Florida, entered the final local phase of their preparations and remained on a flight that had not yet begun. The September 25 review cleared further preparation and left Kennedy arrival as the next planned step. On September 26 the crew travelled from Houston and reached Florida. The arrival itself is the completed development for this edition. Earlier in the day, NASA could describe the intended route and next stage, while the later on-site account established that the travel was finished. The mission still has a separate launch stage ahead.[1], [2]
