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A SpaceX Falcon 9 booster returns after lifting off with Dragon spacecraft on NASA’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station in Cape Canaveral, Fla., on Oct. 1.Philip Scott Andrews/Reuters
Lucky 13 has proved to be a winning number for Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk.
Despite unsettled weather on Thursday morning, the skies opened in time for Colonel Kutyrk and his crewmates to make their 11:10 a.m. ET launch to the International Space Station.
At the appointed time, the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lit up pad 40 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and then ascended rapidly into cloudy skies. About eight minutes later, the rocket’s reusable booster reappeared over the launch area to make its planned descent.
The crew’s Dragon capsule is expected to dock with the ISS at about 7 p.m. ET on Thursday.
Col. Kutryk is making his first trip to orbit. Once he arrives at the station, he is set to become the fourth Canadian astronaut to undertake a long-duration mission on the orbiting laboratory, which is expected to last about six months.
He is also the first Canadian Space Agency astronaut to fly as part of NASA’s commercial crew program. The program involves private-sector partners, such as SpaceX, transporting astronauts to and from the station.
As the 13th regular SpaceX flight in the program, the mission has been dubbed Crew-13. Earlier on Thursday morning, the astronauts were driven out to their rocket in Tesla vehicles bearing “Lucky 13″ licence plates.
In addition to Col. Kutryk, the crew includes Jessica Watkins as commander. Dr. Watkins, a PhD geologist, was in the same 2017 astronaut class as Col. Kutryk. In 2022, she became the first Black woman to serve on a long duration mission to the space station.
Pilot Luke Delaney and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov round out the crew. Like Col. Kutryk, both are heading to the station for the first time.