For the first time in six months, astronauts are about to launch to space from the United States.
The two Americans, one Canadian and one Russian selected for a mission known as Crew-13 will soon become the latest spacefarers to leave Earth behind after the Artemis II moon mission captivated the world in April.
These astronauts, though, will be staying much closer to home. The Crew-13 astronauts' destination will be about 250 miles high, where they will spend the next several months calling the International Space Station their home.
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Following liftoff from Florida, the astronauts will have a nearly eight-hour journey ahead of them, which NASA said would be the fastest trip of a U.S. spacecraft to the ISS
in history.
Here's how you can watch live today (Oct. 1) as the next astronauts head to and reach the International Space Station.
When is the Crew-13 launch date? NASA, SpaceX target liftoff today
The Crew‑13 mission is scheduled to launch at 11:10 a.m. ET, Thursday, Oct. 1. A Falcon 9 rocket will propel the astronauts into orbit aboard a Dragon crew capsule following liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
If the launch occurs on schedule, the astronauts would then be expected to dock in the Dragon vehicle at 7 p.m. ET at the space station's Harmony Module, which connects the laboratories of the ISS.
What is the Crew-13 mission?
Contracted under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, the Crew-13 mission is the latest that tasks tech mogul Elon Musk's SpaceX with sending a contingent of astronauts to the International Space Station, where they will live and work.
The crew includes NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, as well as Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. Of the crew, Watkins is the only one to have been to space before, having reached the ISS in 2022 as part of the Crew-4 mission.
A few days after Crew-13's arrival – likely Oct. 5 – the mission's Crew-12 predecessors will depart the space station and head back to Earth for a water landing off the coast of California, according to NASA.
For several months, the astronauts will conduct scientific experiments meant for microgravity and maintain space station operations, which potentially includes spacewalks.
How to watch NASA coverage of Crew-13 launch, docking
NASA's live coverage of the Crew-13 launch will begin at 9:20 a.m. ET Oct. 1, the agency said in a press release.
The coverage will be available to stream on the agency's free NASA+ app, as well Amazon Prime and YouTube. Netflix, which provides coverage of select NASA mission, is not advertising the launch on its platform.
A postlaunch news conference led by NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is scheduled for 12:45 a.m. ET.
NASA's livestream would then resume at 5:20 p.m. ET as the astronauts aboard the SpaceX Dragon approach the space station and prepare to dock. Though they would dock by 7 p.m., the astronauts wouldn't be able to board the ISS until 8:45 p.m., according to NASA.
Livestream: Watch Crew-13 launch live
How to watch SpaceX livestream
Because SpaceX is providing launch and transportation services for the NASA mission, the commercial spaceflight company will also provide a livestream.
SpaceX's livestream is set to begin about an hour before the launch and will be available on its website and on social media site X.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to watch as Crew-13 launches today on fastest US trip to ISS ever
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