THE HUMAN SPACEFLIGHT BLOG: From the Space Shuttle to Beyond: October 2026

Friday, October 2, 2026

A New Group of Spacefarers Has Arrived at the ISS...

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Crew-13 astronauts lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida...on October 1, 2026.

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 Launch (Photo Release - October 1)

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov onboard, Thursday, October 1, 2026, from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-13 mission is the 13th crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

Watkins, Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov launched at 11:10 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 40 at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station to begin a mission aboard the orbital outpost.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Outside Kennedy Space Center's Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in Florida, the four Crew-13 members wave to a crowd of family members and other onlookers prior to heading out to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 for launch...on October 1, 2026.

Outside Kennedy Space Center's Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in Florida, the four Crew-13 members wave to a crowd of family members and other onlookers prior to heading out to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40 for launch...on October 1, 2026.

NASA / Joel Kowsky

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Grace capsule flies away from its Falcon 9 upper stage booster (off-screen) several minutes after the launch of Crew-13 to the International Space Station...on October 1, 2026.

SpaceX

NASA

The astronauts of Crew-13 and the Expedition 75 members conduct a welcoming ceremony aboard the International Space Station...on October 1, 2026.

NASA

An infographic showing all of the vehicles that are currently docked to the International Space Station...as of October 1, 2026.

NASA

Thursday, October 1, 2026

Both SRBs Are Fully Stacked for the Next Flight of the Space Launch System!

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the two nose cones for the Space Launch System's twin solid rocket boosters are now attached to Artemis 3 flight hardware atop the Mobile Launcher...on September 30, 2026.

NASA / Cory S Huston

Assembly of the Artemis III SLS rocket (Photo Release - September 30)

Engineers with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems completed integrating the aerodynamic nose cones onto the left and right forward assemblies on the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters, finishing their stacking operations for Artemis III inside the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida - on Wednesday, September 30, 2026.

Each forward assembly contains an aerodynamic top, a forward skirt housing avionics, and frustum housing motors that allow the boosters to separate from the SLS core stage after launch.

The twin solid boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis III rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the nose cone for the Space Launch System's left solid rocket booster is now attached to Artemis 3 flight hardware atop the Mobile Launcher...on September 29, 2026.

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the nose cone for the Space Launch System's left solid rocket booster is now attached to Artemis 3 flight hardware atop the Mobile Launcher...on September 29, 2026.

NASA / Cory S Huston

Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the two nose cones for the Space Launch System's twin solid rocket boosters are now attached to Artemis 3 flight hardware atop the Mobile Launcher...on September 30, 2026.

NASA / Cory S Huston