SpaceX flight led by first Black female commander sets US speed record

Four astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a U.S. October 2, 2026 Astronauts arrive at International Space Station on the quickest US express flight yet by Marcia Dunn.

Four astronauts pulled up at International Space Station after eight-hour express flight led by Jessica Watkins Four astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a US speed record, and that created further history with the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. SpaceX launched commander Jessica Watkins and her crew for Nasa after a three-week delay to fix their Dragon capsule’s leaking fuel system.

Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but in the end, the skies cleared enough to allow for a safe liftoff. Continue reading…

1:12 First Black female space commander gives update from international space station – video ‘An amazing ride’: SpaceX flight led by first Black female commander sets US speed record Four astronauts pulled up at International Space Station after eight-hour express flight led by Jessica Watkins Four astronauts pulled up at the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday after launching on an eight-hour express that set a US speed record, and that created further history with the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit. Thick clouds threatened all morning to halt the countdown but skies cleared enough to allow a safe liftoff from Cape Canaveral at 11.10am (1510 GMT).

Seven hours and 55 minutes later, the SpaceX Dragon “Grace” capsule docked at an ISS port, setting a record for the fastest trip by a US spacecraft to the outpost. View image in fullscreen Image taken from a Nasa video shows the SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts docking at the International Space Station.

Photograph: NASA/AP In a live broadcast on Nasa TV, the capsule appeared to glide gently toward a stationary ISS as both hurtled through space at about 17,500mph (28,100 km/h). The new arrivals – Americans Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Joshua Kutryk, and Russian Sergey Teteryatnikov – floated into the space station through a pressurized vestibule and addressed colleagues on Earth late Thursday.

“We are so excited to be here. This is truly a special place,” Watkins said on the Nasa livestream.

“It’s amazing and kind of ironic to think that it’s such a short trip to get here because the journey to get here has been long.” View image in fullscreen Nasa astronaut Jessica Watkins waves as she departs for the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters Canadian Kutryk, whose wife will give birth while he’s away, said it “feels really good” to represent his country in space, adding he was “looking forward to a good mission after some sleep.

That’s what I’m gonna go do next”. The duration of the journey depends greatly on the distance between the ISS and the spacecraft at the time of launch.

It took more than 30 hours for the last crew that launched from American soil to reach the station. With the late-morning launch, Watkins became the first Black woman to lead a crew to orbit.

A geologist who worked with Nasa’s Mars rover Curiosity a decade ago, Watkins is making her second trip to the space station after a lengthy stay in 2022. “Thanks for an amazing ride,” Watkins radioed after liftoff.

Although their stay at the ISS will last six months, the flight there was the quickest yet not only for Elon Musk’s company, but any American entity, including Nasa. View image in fullscreen From left, Joshua Kutryk, Luke Delaney, Jessica Watkins and Sergey Teteryatnikov at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Thursday.

Photograph: Jennifer Briggs/Zuma Press Wire/Shutterstock Aside from Watkins, the other astronauts are newcomers to space: Delaney is a retired marine; Kutryk is a colonel in the Royal Canadian air force; and Teteryatnikov, a former submariner. They will replace four astronauts who have been living at the orbiting laboratory since February.

This was the 13th crew launched by SpaceX for Nasa, not counting 2020’s test flight. The Crew-13 designation in their mission patch pays homage to Apollo 13, the harrowing 1970 moonshot that ended with the astronauts’ safe return.

View image in fullscreen SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Dragon capsule lifts off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Photograph: Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images References to the number 13 abounded Thursday.

Watkins and her crew rode to the launch pad in black Teslas bearing plates that read “Lucky 13”. They also carried up a small crocheted golden dragon named Lucky with a four-leaf clover around its neck.

“We figured it wouldn’t hurt to bring a little of our own luck just in case, but clearly we don’t need it,” Watkins said from orbit, noting they were “four of the luckiest humans on or off planet Earth”. Pete Hegseth appoints Elon Musk to US taskforce on future of warfare.

Heather is due to give birth to their third child in late November.