Nasa and SpaceX prepare to launch the Crew-13 mission today, October 1. Four astronauts will head to the International Space Station aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The Falcon 9 rocket is set to lift off at 8:40 pm IST. This mission aims to reach the orbiting laboratory in under eight hours.

Four astronauts are getting ready to leave Earth for the International Space Station (ISS) as Nasa and SpaceX prepare to launch the Crew-13 mission today, October 1.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to lift off at 8:40 pm IST from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

Nasa's live coverage begins at 6:50 pm IST, giving viewers a front-row look at the final preparations, crew boarding and countdown to liftoff.

WATCH NASA, SPACEX'S CREW-13 LAUNCH LIVE

If everything goes as planned, the four astronauts will reach the space station in less than eight hours, in what Nasa says will be the fastest trip by a US spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory.

MEET THE ASTRONAUTS HEADING TO SPACE

Crew-13 is led by Nasa astronaut Jessica Watkins, who will serve as commander.

Fellow Nasa astronaut Luke Delaney is the pilot, while Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos will serve as mission specialists.

For Delaney, Kutryk and Teteryatnikov, this will be their first trip to space.

Watkins, meanwhile, has previously lived aboard the International Space Station and is returning for another long-duration mission.

The crew will fly aboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, named Grace, which previously flew the private Axiom-4 Mission in 2025.

A QUICK TRIP TO SPACE STATION

After liftoff, the Falcon 9 will place Dragon into orbit before the spacecraft begins a series of manoeuvres to catch up with the ISS.

Dragon is designed to approach and dock with the station autonomously, although the astronauts can take manual control if necessary.

Docking is targeted for around 4:30 am IST on October 2 at the forward-facing port of the station's Harmony module. The hatch opening is expected around 6:15 am IST.

Once aboard, Crew-13 will join Expedition 75 and begin a long-duration mission involving scientific experiments, technology demonstrations and station maintenance.

Their work will include studies of human health, blood flow and clotting, crop production and other challenges of living in space.

Some of this research is aimed at preparing for future human missions to the Moon and Mars.