NASA, SpaceX delay Crew-13 mission to space station

Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel on Aug 31, 2026

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Central Florida’s Luke Delaney will have wait a little longer to take his first trip to space as NASA and SpaceX have delayed the upcoming Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station.

In a Sunday update, NASA said testing of the Crew Dragon Grace, which has flown on one previous mission, revealed an oxidizer leak on the spacecraft’s propulsion system. Teams found the leak during standard prelaunch processing.

“Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are performing additional tests and data review and will complete any necessary rework prior to launch,” the update said. “A new target date will be announced once available.”

The mission had been targeting as early as Sept. 12 for launch. NASA’s Delaney, who was raised in Volusia County, is tapped as pilot for the mission. He’s flying with fellow NASA astronaut and commander Jessica Watkins, who flew on the Crew-4 mission in 2022, as well as rookie flyers Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

The quartet would have been going into quarantine this past weekend had the issues with the spacecraft not arisen. They will now have to wait for repairs to Crew Dragon to be complete before launch.

When they do fly to the space station, they will join the station’s Expedition 75 and relieve the Crew-12 mission that has been on board since February.

The launch will be atop a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40.

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