Tomorrow is going to be a big SpaceX day here on what's called Florida's Space Coast with two launches. The Crew-13 flight to the International Space Station is set for 11:10:06 AM EDT from SLC-40 (right - that's 6 seconds after 11:10 AM) and just under 13 hours later a rare Falcon Heavy mission is set to liftoff from Pad-39A at 11:53 PM. The two Falcon Heavy boosters will return to SpaceX's Landing Zones 1 and 2, while the core booster (all three are Falcon 9s) will continue to carry the payload, NROL-97, to orbital insertion.
Crew-13 will launch NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins, Luke Delaney and crewmates Josh Kutryk ( of Canada) and Sergey Teteryatnikov (of Russia) on a six-month mission to the International Space Station. They will join three core members of the station's Expedition 75 crew, already aboard the station, as well as the four soon-to-depart meembers of NASA's Crew-12 astronauts, who will soon return to Earth on their own SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule.
The Falcon Heavy mission Thursday night is to launch NROL-97, a satellite for National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); naturally, they won't say anything about the exact payload or its mission, but they have a pretty webpage with a picture of the mission patch and explanation of the symbology.
The mission patch serves as a tribute to the lives and sacrifices remembered on September 11, 2001, embodying NRO’s unwavering commitment to protect our warfighters, defend freedom, and help build a safer world. The lighthouse characterizes enduring strength and the ability to provide information to those in need, even in difficult times. The endpoints of the light beam align to the locations of 9 and 11 on a clock face in honor of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. Four prominent stars represent the four aircraft lost on 9/11, and the moon phase is shown as it appeared on September 11, 2026. Download the NROL-97 Poster
The weather forecast for the missions isn't in the "nearly perfect" category but still better chances than random 50/50 odds. Space.com quotes, "forecasts call for a 55% change of conditions good enough to allow a launch." I just looked at the source and it's a bit higher (65%) but either number can only be considered a guideline - which is why the weather is monitored throughout the countdown. If Crew-13 does scrub tomorrow, the next launch window will be Friday (Oct. 2) at 10:47 a.m. EDT (1447 GMT).
Falcon 9 with Crew-13's Dragon stacked on SLC-40. Image credit: SpaceX.
Interestingly and unrelatedly, there's also a Falcon 9 mission from Vandenberg SFB between these two launches. The Transporter 18 mission, a SpaceX rideshare mission, lifts off at 2:18PM EDT. A busy day, even by the current SpaceX standards.
I was wondering if the LZ's were getting crowded, so I got a summary from Grok:
ReplyDelete(as of 1 Oct 2026)
LZ-1LC-13, Cape Canaveral SFS Retired after Crew-11 (1 Aug 2025); brought back for tonight’s Falcon Heavy NROL-97 side-booster landing
LZ-2LC-13, next to LZ-1 Still in use; other NROL-97 side booster is targeting it
LZ-40Next to SLC-40, Cape Canaveral SFS Active since 13 Feb 2026 (Crew-12). Crew-13 today is planned to land here
LC-39A pads Kennedy Space Center LC-39A Planned (two Falcon pads); not yet operational
The Space Force wants landings co-located with the launch pad, so LC-13 is being turned over to Phantom Space and Vaya Space. LZ-40 is the replacement at SLC-40 (about 280 ft of concrete plus a gravel apron). Replacement pads at LC-39A are still listed as planned; Falcon Heavy still flies from 39A, but its side boosters have been going to LZ-1/LZ-2 or LZ-40.
Tonight is a clear example of the mix: Falcon Heavy NROL-97 from LC-39A is targeting LZ-1 and LZ-2, while Crew-13 from SLC-40 is targeting LZ-40.
The only other Falcon land pad is LZ-4 at Vandenberg in California.
Thanks, Malatrope. That question never even crossed my mind. Kind of aware of much of it but not in that detail.
DeleteThere was a time when you could count the number of train stations in the world on two hands.
ReplyDeleteThere was a time when you could count the number of runways in the world on two hands.
There was a time when you could count the number of landing pads in the world on two hands.
Those times pass.
The wisdom of the ages...
DeleteFor a minute I was wondering if they needed the 13 hours to move a landed rocket out of the way!
ReplyDeleteYesterday, SiG said SpaceX had launched 13 crewed missions. So why is today's launch named Crew 13?
ReplyDeleteThe first crewed mission was the test flight carrying Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley back on May 30, 2020. It had a crew, but was not an assigned crew change (crew replacement) for NASA. Those had to wait until the Dragon was certified by NASA for that use. After that, they started doing Crew-1 and the rest for NASA.
DeleteOkay, thank you for that.
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