# Jessica Watkins Type: Person Source: Space & Defense Intelligence Brief — https://getspacebrief.com/entity/jessica-watkins Canonical HTML page: https://getspacebrief.com/entity/jessica-watkins ## Timeline - **2026-10-05**: Crew-12 scheduled return to Earth — The outgoing Crew-12 team is scheduled to return to Earth on Monday, October 5, completing the handover to Expedition 75 with Crew-13 aboard. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 launch from Cape Canaveral — SpaceX launched four astronauts late morning after weather cleared, following a three-week delay for a capsule fuel system repair. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 arrival at International Space Station — The crew was expected to dock after an eight-hour transit, arriving well before bedtime the same day to begin a six-month stay. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 launches from Cape Canaveral — SpaceX Crew Dragon 'Grace' lifts off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station carrying NASA, CSA, and Roscosmos astronauts after a propulsion-system delay was cleared. - **2026-10-01**: Dragon 'Grace' docks with ISS — Approximately eight hours after liftoff, Crew-13 docks with the International Space Station — the fastest trip to the ISS for an American spacecraft. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 launches from Cape Canaveral — Late-morning liftoff from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after thick clouds clear; Watkins becomes the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 docks at ISS — Four astronauts arrive after an eight-hour express transit, the fastest US crewed flight to the station. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 launches from Cape Canaveral — Watkins and her crew lifted off late morning from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station after thick clouds cleared enough for a safe launch. - **2026-10-01**: Crew-13 arrives at the International Space Station — The Dragon pulled up at the ISS after an eight-hour transit, setting a US speed record for any American entity. - **2026-09**: Crew-13 launch delayed — Launch slips roughly three weeks so SpaceX and NASA can fix a leaking fuel system on the Dragon capsule. - **2026-09**: Launch delayed for fuel-system repair — Crew-13's launch was postponed roughly three weeks so teams could fix a leaking fuel system on the Dragon capsule. - **2026-02**: Outgoing crew arrives at ISS — The four astronauts whom Crew-13 will replace begin living aboard the orbiting laboratory. - **2022**: Watkins' first ISS expedition — Jessica Watkins completes a lengthy stay aboard the ISS on her first mission, roughly a decade after working on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity. - **1970-04**: Apollo 13 mission — NASA's harrowing 1970 moonshot ends with the crew's safe return; Crew-13's mission patch pays homage to the flight. ## Recent coverage (4 stories) ### Crew-13 sets 8-hour US speed record to ISS, led by first Black woman commander 2026-10-03 00:50:40 · Sentiment: Positive · Impact: 7/10 · Sources: 2 SpaceX's Crew-13 reached the International Space Station on October 1, 2026, after an eight-hour transit — the fastest crewed flight ever flown by an American entity. NASA's Jessica Watkins commanded the mission and became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. The record-setting flight followed a three-week delay to repair the Dragon capsule's leaking fuel system. Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/crew-13-eight-hour-us-speed-record-iss ### SpaceX Crew-13 sets 8-hour US record to ISS as Watkins makes history 2026-10-03 00:04:58 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 2 Crew-13's eight-hour transit to the ISS sets a new US crewed-flight speed record, highlighting SpaceX's mature operational cadence and favorable orbital-phasing capability. Jessica Watkins becomes the first Black woman to command an orbital crew, while a Russian cosmonaut flying on a US commercial vehicle keeps ISS cooperation alive amid wider tensions. The mission overcame a three-week fuel-system delay and a weather-threatened countdown to reach orbit. Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/spacex-crew-13-eight-hour-iss-speed-record ### Crew-13 Docks in 8 Hours: Fastest US Crewed ISS Transit Yet 2026-10-02 06:43:51 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 3 SpaceX's Crew-13 docked with the ISS roughly eight hours after an October 1 launch from Cape Canaveral — the fastest American crewed transit on record. The four-person, three-agency crew begins a six-month Expedition 75 increment focused on biomedical and agricultural research. The mission reinforces Crew Dragon as the operational backbone of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/spacex-crew-13-8-hour-iss-docking ### Crew-13: 4 astronauts, 8-hour ISS transit, first Black woman commander 2026-10-02 04:03:00 · Sentiment: Neutral · Impact: 5/10 · Sources: 2 SpaceX launched Crew-13 with four astronauts to the ISS in an eight-hour transit, marking the company's fastest crewed flight and a milestone for commander Jessica Watkins. For space and defense professionals, the mission highlights mature commercial crew cadence and deeper multinational operational integration. Full story: https://getspacebrief.com/story/spacex-crew13-eight-hour-iss-transit --- This page is a machine-readable summary. Sentiment measures the directional read of each development for this entity, not the tone of the reporting; impact weights consequence, not syndication reach. See https://getspacebrief.com/guides/methodology for the full editorial methodology.