SpaceX Completes Crew-13 Rehearsal Ahead of October 1 ISS Launch

SpaceX said Tuesday it completed a full rehearsal of launch day activities for NASA’s Crew-13 mission, clearing the final major milestone before four astronauts are scheduled to lift off for the International Space Station on Thursday, October 1.

The update was shared in a post with an 11-second video as the mission enters its final countdown. The mission is targeting liftoff at 11:10 AM EDT, or 8:10 AM PDT, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. SpaceX rolled the Crew-13 Dragon spacecraft out to the pad last week, while the rehearsal put the astronauts and ground teams through the full launch day sequence.

Completing the rehearsal is the standard final gate for crewed launches, confirming that the astronauts, Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon capsule and launch team are ready to fly. Crew-13 will be the next long-duration crew rotation to the station, continuing the steady cadence of NASA and SpaceX crew swaps that keeps the orbiting laboratory staffed.

October 1 is also shaping up as one of SpaceX’s busiest launch days. The company plans to fly the Transporter-18 rideshare mission and the Falcon Heavy launch of the classified NROL-97 mission for the National Reconnaissance Office, putting three launches on the schedule for the same day.

If the schedule holds, the Crew-13 astronauts will be on their way to the station by late Thursday morning, before SpaceX turns its attention to the evening Falcon Heavy liftoff from Pad 39A.