NASA Delays Crew-13 Launch After Leak Found on SpaceX Dragon

NASA and SpaceX have postponed the launch of the Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station after engineers found an oxidizer leak in the propulsion system of the mission's Dragon spacecraft. An oxidizer is a chemical that helps fuel burn inside a rocket or spacecraft engine, making it essential to the vehicle's ability to maneuver. The leak turned up during routine spacecraft processing ahead of launch.

NASA and SpaceX teams are now running additional tests and reviewing data from the spacecraft. Any repairs or other required work will be completed before Dragon is cleared to fly. NASA has not yet announced a new target launch date.

Four astronauts are due to fly on the mission. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney will serve as commander and pilot, alongside Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, both mission specialists. Once aboard the space station, the crew will join Expedition 75, the station's long-duration crew responsible for research, maintenance and other operations.

About two weeks before the flight, the Crew-13 astronauts will begin quarantine at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to reduce the risk of illness before travelling to space. When cleared, Dragon will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.