Latest edition · Wednesday, 2 September 2026 · Bengaluru Mission desk active

Commercial Crew

Crew-13 launch date adjusted after Dragon oxidizer leak

NASA says teams will test Dragon, review the data and complete any needed rework before launch; a new target has not been announced.

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The four Crew-13 astronauts hold their mission plaque inside a space-station training mockup
NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov display the Crew-13 mission plaque in a space-station training mockup on August 5, 2026. Credit: NASA/Morgan Gridley
Aug. 29NASA announcement date in 2026
1Dragon propulsion-system issue named
Pendingnew launch target

NASA says it and SpaceX have adjusted the launch date for Crew-13 after an oxidizer leak was detected in Dragon's propulsion system during standard prelaunch spacecraft processing. The August 29 agency update did not provide a replacement target.

NASA said joint teams will perform additional tests and review the data, then complete any necessary rework before launch. The agency did not specify the scope of the work or say how long the assessment could take.

The same update identifies NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney as Crew-13's commander and pilot, with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov as mission specialists. NASA said the mission is to launch on SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

This dispatch relies on NASA's August 29 update, which directly documents the schedule change and the stated corrective steps. NASA had not announced a new launch target or described an effect on the mission's wider International Space Station schedule when that update was published.

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