‘An amazing ride’: SpaceX flight led by first Black female commander sets US speed record — SkimNews
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- SpaceX launched its 13th crewed NASA mission from Cape Canaveral at 11:10am Thursday, sending commander Jessica Watkins alongside Americans Luke Delaney, Canadian Joshua Kutryk, and Russian Sergey Teteryatnikov toward the ISS.
- The Dragon "Grace" capsule docked in 7 hours 55 minutes — a US speed record for crewed trips to the station, cutting the previous American crewed transit of more than 30 hours to under 8.
- Jessica Watkins became the first Black woman to command a crew to orbit; a geologist who worked on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity a decade ago, she was making her second ISS stay after a lengthy 2022 visit.
- Joshua Kutryk's wife Heather is due to give birth to their third child in late November, making him the fourth man to become a father while in orbit; NASA and the Canadian Space Agency plan to provide a radio link to the delivery room.
- The launch was delayed three weeks to repair a fuel leak in the Dragon capsule, and the crew embraced a "Lucky 13" theme — black Tesla plates reading "Lucky 13" and a crocheted golden dragon with a four-leaf clover — as a deliberate homage to Apollo 13.
- SpaceX also launched a Falcon rocket from California three hours after Crew-13 with more than 100 mini satellites, with another Falcon set to lift off from Florida carrying a classified NRO satellite — all in the same week the company's massive Starship reached orbit for the first time.
Why it matters: SpaceX cut the US crewed transit to the ISS from more than 30 hours to under 8, establishing a new logistical baseline for time-sensitive station operations. Watkins' command also creates a first-of-its-kind precedent: no Black woman has previously led a US crewed orbital mission, reshaping the visible leadership of American spaceflight.
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