SpaceX launches Crew-13 to ISS, NASA reuses 13 designation
SpaceX just sent Crew-13 to the International Space Station, the first time NASA has flown a mission with the number 13 since the Apollo days.
The team (Commander Jessica Watkins of NASA, pilot Luke Delaney of NASA, mission specialist Joshua Kutryk with the Canadian Space Agency, and mission specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos) lifted off at 11:10am EDT (1510 GMT) on Thursday (Oct. 1) from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, kicking off a five-and-a-half-month stay in orbit.
Crew-13 insignia echoes Apollo 13
NASA has avoided naming missions "13" ever since Apollo 13's famous emergency back in 1970.
For years, they even changed how they numbered flights to dodge bad luck.
But now, Crew-13 is embracing the legacy, right down to an insignia that pays tribute to Apollo 13's emblem.
As Commander Jessica Watkins of NASA put it before launch, "We really wanted to honor their legacy, honor their resilience and their grit and bring a little bit of that with us on our crew."