NASA and SpaceX have postponed the launch of the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station after detecting an oxidizer leak in the Crew Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system. A new launch date has not yet been determined. The crew includes Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk.
The leak was discovered during standard pre-launch preparations of the spacecraft. Following this, specialists began additional checks and data analysis to determine the cause of the malfunction and the scope of necessary work.
Crew-13 was initially planned to launch on September 12 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This date is now no longer considered valid. NASA announced that a new date will be announced after technical checks are completed.
The Crew-13 mission crew is scheduled to reach the ISS aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, which will be launched into space using a Falcon 9 rocket. Upon arrival, the crew will join a long-duration expedition on the station.
NASA has not yet announced how long the launch might be delayed. The duration will depend on the results of the Dragon propulsion system inspection and the repair of the detected leak.
We have previously reported on the agreement for cross-flights between Roscosmos and NASA, under which Russian cosmonauts fly on American Crew Dragon spacecraft, and NASA astronauts fly on Russian "Soyuz" spacecraft. This allows for maintaining the presence of specialists from both countries on the ISS even during postponements and unforeseen circumstances.
In December 2023, NASA postponed the launch of Russian cosmonaut Kirill Peskov to the ISS due to delays in spacecraft preparation and the need to ensure the return of the Boeing Starliner crew. Later, in March 2024, we reported on the launch of the Crew-8 mission, which included cosmonaut Alexander Grebyonkin.
In March 2025, Crew Dragon with Kirill Peskov finally launched, although before that NASA had to solve a problem with the spacecraft's engine fairing – we also reported on this. The current postponement of the Crew-13 mission due to an oxidizer leak continues the series of technical difficulties faced by the organizers of cross-flights, but the agreement remains in effect.