Crew-13 docks at station after record US transit

SpaceX's Crew-13 Dragon docked with the International Space Station at 7:05 p.m. EDT on October 1, NASA reported. The launch-to-docking trip took 7 hours 55 minutes, the fastest by a US spacecraft in the station's history. The Associated Press independently reported the arrival and US transit record.

A Falcon 9 lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, at 11:10 a.m. EDT. Dragon carried NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. It docked at the station's Harmony module forward port.

The completed flight follows the launch delay NASA announced on August 29 after finding an oxidizer leak in Dragon's propulsion system during prelaunch processing. NASA said then that teams would test the spacecraft, review data and complete any necessary rework. Its October 1 flight updates confirm launch and docking but do not describe the repair.

NASA reported that the Dragon hatch opened at 9:19 p.m. EDT and the four astronauts entered the station, joining Expedition 75. The agency lists stem-cell tissue production, crop-growing work and astronaut-health studies for Crew-13's stay. Those investigations are planned work; the October 1 transit record does not establish their results.