{"id":61624,"date":"2026-08-05T23:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/crew-13-pilot-reflects-on-career-training-and-upcoming-science-ahead-of-flight-to-iss\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T23:21:00","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:21:00","slug":"crew-13-pilot-reflects-on-career-training-and-upcoming-science-ahead-of-flight-to-iss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/crew-13-pilot-reflects-on-career-training-and-upcoming-science-ahead-of-flight-to-iss\/","title":{"rendered":"Crew-13 pilot reflects on career, training, and upcoming science ahead of flight to ISS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--[CDATA[<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" style=\"float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;\" decoding=\"async\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-350x233.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-525x350.jpg 525w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-1170x780.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e404725large-263x175.jpg 263w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/--><\/p>\n<p>After a previously targeted launch date in November, NASA has moved up the next International Space Station (ISS) crew launch, Crew-13, from November to no earlier than Sept. 12, 2026. Despite losing two months of training time, the Crew-13 astronauts remain ready for the mission. Crew-13\u2019s pilot, Luke Delaney, discussed this and more with NSF\u2019s Sawyer Rosenstein in an interview ahead of launch.<\/p>\n<p>Delaney is flying to space for the first time, as are Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The commander, Jessica Watkins, is flying for a second time after first flying on Crew-4. The crew will fly their mission aboard Crew Dragon <em>Grace<\/em>. Delaney noted that with the earlier launch date, they can still achieve all of their training goals.<\/p>\n<p><span id=\"more-114459\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/KSC-20260512-PH-KLS02_0041large.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114463\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">From left, Canadian astronaut Joshua Kutryk and NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney meet with teams from NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a visit to the Vehicle Assembly Building. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere [was] some compression in some ways, but I think there was some trade space, so we leveraged some efficiencies in training and still met all the criteria,\u201d Delaney said to NSF. \u201cIt can be flexible, so as your launch dates change\u2026training complements it; it is a little bit of an effort, but [they] move things around and we are easily achieving our full training events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Delaney was first selected to be a NASA astronaut in 2021 as part of the 23rd astronaut class. Each class is given a nickname from the previous \u201cASCANs\u201d or astronaut candidates. His class was nicknamed \u201cThe Flies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is excitement watching Nicole [Ayers] go up, certainly watching Chris [Williams] go up as well on a Soyuz,\u201d Delaney said. \u201cThose two were the first to go up on the different vehicles, so that\u2019s exciting to support them and watch that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/astronaut-candidates-with-vanessa-wyche_51732549849_olarge.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114460\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The 23rd group of NASA astronauts with JSC director Vanessa Wyche in 2021. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<aside class=\"penci-sidebar-content widget l2-info\">\n<h4 class=\"widget-title penci-border-arrow\"><span class=\"inner-arrow\">See Also<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li>Crew-13 Updates<\/li>\n<li>ISS Forum Section<\/li>\n<li>NSF Store<\/li>\n<li>Click here to Join L2<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Delaney is not the only member of The Flies featured on the upcoming ISS expedition. \u201cNow we\u2019re getting to fly and meet up there with Anil [Menon] and form an expedition with his Soyuz crew and just have one large team up there operating, that\u2019s exciting,\u201d Delaney said. NSF previously spoke with Dr. Anil Menon, who was in the medical profession, including space medicine, before his selection.<\/p>\n<p>Delaney, however, has had a different journey. Luke enlisted with the US Marine Corps in 1998 as a naval aviator. He saw combat in December 2001 in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. After returning and primarily flying the KC-130, he eventually became a test pilot instructor on the T-6B, C-12C, U-6A, and NU-1B. In total, including time with NASA, Delaney has logged more than 3,700 hours of flight time in 48 different aircraft. Being an instructor, though, is something he found helpful when transitioning to NASA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt does help when you\u2019re going from a capacity of executing at an individual level versus training and now instructing,\u201d Delaney explained. \u201cI think in a lot of ways I learned more as an instructor than I did as a student because now you\u2019re having to accommodate different learning methods for folks, and try to identify better ways to support people. So when you think of leadership, kind of service-based leadership, and making sure you\u2019re supporting teammates and crewmates the best way you can, that definitely helps round out a lot of those things.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/8225125-scaled.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114461\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">NASA Astronaut candidate Luke Delaney operates the AH-64E simulator. (Credit: Brittany Trumbill, Fort Rucker, Army via DVIDS)<\/p>\n<p>Delaney grew up in Deltona in central Florida, just 70 km from the Kennedy Space Center. He recalls being inspired by Space Shuttle launches when growing up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn elementary school, if there was a launch, they would typically take the kids outside, and we\u2019d watch the launch from the elementary school,\u201d Delaney recalled. \u201cI definitely remember catching a night launch of a Space Shuttle, and that lights up the sky, and then you can feel the rumble.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He says that\u2019s part of the reason he\u2019s an astronaut now.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just hard to fathom back then, you know, watching people go to space and having that interest develop, and then being able to come full circle like this is just a super exciting opportunity,\u201d Delaney said.<\/p>\n<p>After leaving the Marines in 2020, he joined NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center in Virginia to assist with airborne science missions. Those included atmospheric data collection flights, air traffic management concepts, and other Earth science efforts. Delaney says that can be complemented by on-orbit work he\u2019ll do aboard the Station.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/jsc2026e037778large.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-114462\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Crew-13 commander, Jessica Watkins, assists Delaney during training. (Credit: NASA)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re always looking to collect data and characterize our environment, our climate, our Earth, everything a little bit better,\u201d Delaney said. \u201cA lot of that can happen on Station, too. I think there\u2019s a complementary aspect there when it comes to Earth observation that we can do, and also some of the sensors and data collection that\u2019s happening inherently on Space Station. Those things overlap in a lot of ways and can enhance the data collection effort on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Delaney says he\u2019s looking forward to studying the body\u2019s physiological responses to spaceflight, including fluid shifting and vision implications. He\u2019s also specifically mentioned interest in performing research on stem cells. While he won\u2019t get to do a lot of glovebox work, there are a lot of different things he\u2019s been tasked to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere is an interesting aspect I think about being a NASA astronaut, and that\u2019s you\u2019re training as a generalist in a lot of ways,\u201d Delaney explained. \u201cSo, when it comes to geology, I don\u2019t have a lot of background there, but I\u2019ve learned a lot over the last few years on geological aspects, and then also for biology and science.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>All of this, he says, is to benefit humanity, and that\u2019s something he\u2019s very proud of.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA lot of what we\u2019re doing on Earth to better understand space, we\u2019re doing in space to better understand Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>(Lead image: NASA astronaut Luke Delaney as seen during training inside a Crew Dragon simulator. Credit: SpaceX)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Hawaiian_Shirt_Promo_-_Web.webp\"><\/p>\n<p>The post Crew-13 pilot reflects on career, training, and upcoming science ahead of flight to ISS appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a previously targeted launch date in November, NASA has moved up the next International Space Station (ISS) crew launch, Crew-13, from November to no earlier than Sept. 12, 2026. Despite losing two months of training time, the Crew-13 astronauts remain ready for the mission. Crew-13\u2019s pilot, Luke Delaney, discussed this and more with NSF\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-61624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61624"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61624\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}