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NASA Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral (Florida) / Reinhard Link from Germany WikiMedia Commons |
NASA, SpaceX Delay Crew-13 Launch From Cape Canaveral After Dragon Oxidizer Leak
By Ciara Perez, Senior Multimedia Correspondent
iSkyNews.com (ISN) – Published August 30th, 2026
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA and SpaceX have delayed the upcoming Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station after an oxidizer leak was discovered in the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft during prelaunch processing.
The mission had been listed to launch no earlier than September 12 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. However, NASA announced Saturday night, August 29, that the launch date is being adjusted while engineers investigate the issue.
NASA said the oxidizer leak was detected in Dragon's propulsion system during standard prelaunch spacecraft processing.
Joint NASA and SpaceX teams are conducting additional testing and reviewing data. Any necessary repairs or other work will be completed before the spacecraft is cleared for flight.
A new target launch date will be announced once that work is complete, according to NASA.
Four Crew Members Headed to International Space Station
Crew-13 will carry four astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station for a long-duration science expedition.
NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins will serve as commander, while NASA astronaut Luke Delaney will serve as pilot.
Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos will serve as mission specialists.
Watkins previously spent 170 days in space as part of NASA's SpaceX Crew-4 mission in 2022. Crew-13 will mark the first spaceflight for Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov.
Following their arrival at the International Space Station, the four crew members are expected to join Expedition 75.
Launch Will Take Place From Florida's Space Coast
When cleared for launch, the crew will lift off aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft carried by a Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
Crew-13 is NASA's 13th crew rotation mission using SpaceX's human space transportation system and the 14th Dragon flight carrying astronauts to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Crew Program, including the Demo-2 test flight.
NASA's online launch schedule continued to list Crew-13 as "no earlier than September 12" as of Sunday, August 30, but the agency's latest mission update says the date is being adjusted and that a new target will be announced.
The delay means anyone planning to travel to Florida's Space Coast to watch the launch should wait for NASA and SpaceX to announce a new launch date and time before finalizing plans.
iSkyNews.com will continue to monitor the Crew-13 mission and provide updates as NASA and SpaceX announce a new launch date.
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