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Before Crew-13 launched, SpaceX replaced a leaking valve in Crew Dragon’s propulsion system by cutting into and rewelding a propellant line while the spacecraft was assembled and loaded with propellant. NASA and SpaceX reported favorable repair checks, and the crew launched for the International Space Station on October 1, 2026.

What SpaceX repaired on Crew Dragon

During launch preparations at Cape Canaveral, teams detected an oxidizer leak in Crew Dragon’s propulsion system. SpaceX traced it to a valve. The oxidizer aboard was nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), which Dragon’s control thrusters use with hydrazine fuel. NTO is toxic and hazardous, making work on a loaded vehicle a significant operational challenge.

Rather than drain the propellant and disassemble the spacecraft, SpaceX cut into the propellant line, removed the leaking valve, installed a replacement, and welded the line again. SpaceX vice president of build and flight reliability Bill Gerstenmaier described the work: “By cutting it out, we physically went in and actually cut the valve out of the line,” followed by, “It was welded in place, and then we actually re-welded a new valve in place.”

The report characterized this as the first time SpaceX had performed this kind of repair on a fully assembled Dragon loaded with propellant. Gerstenmaier said the work required special permission from the Space Force’s Eastern Range to conduct hot work with NTO onboard. It was an unusual repair, not evidence that this procedure is routine.

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AYGITAL Space X Falcon 9 + Dragon 1/233 Diecast Rocket Model
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Why repair the line in place?

The reported alternative was to drain the propellant and disassemble the spacecraft to reach the valve. Cutting and rewelding the line in place avoided that sequence and helped keep the mission on schedule for the Crew-12 handover. The sources do not quantify the schedule saved or compare the risks of the two approaches, so the choice should not be read as a general rule for repairing loaded spacecraft.

Approach Work involved Schedule and work context
Repair in place Cut into the line, replace the valve, and reweld it. Performed on the assembled spacecraft with NTO onboard; the report says it helped keep Crew-13 on schedule.
Drain and disassemble Drain propellant and take apart the spacecraft to access the valve. Described as the more time-consuming alternative; no duration or quantified risk comparison was reported.

How NASA and SpaceX checked the repair

NASA’s International Space Station program manager Dana Weigel said, “We looked at the plans, all of the data coming out of that, the welds, the leak, everything looks great.” The account reported that final preparations found no leaks and that Dragon appeared to be functioning well after reaching orbit.

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The removed valve was still being tested to determine why it had leaked. The account does not identify the valve model, report a root cause, or detail the full inspection and certification protocol used to clear the spacecraft. The favorable checks are therefore the reported outcome; they do not establish a general safety comparison or explain the precise failure mechanism.

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Crew-13 launched for the ISS on October 1

NASA reported that Crew-13 launched at 11:10 a.m. EDT on October 1, 2026, from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The crew was commander Jessica Watkins, pilot Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov.

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NASA gave Dragon’s flight duration as approximately seven hours and 50 minutes and described it as the fastest launch-to-docking by a U.S. spacecraft in ISS history. Ars Technica reported an expected arrival in about eight hours. Those are event-specific figures, not a typical transit-time estimate for Crew Dragon. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called the launch “another demonstration of America’s unmatched capability in human spaceflight and the strength of our commercial partnerships”; that is his assessment of the mission, not an independent evaluation of the repair.

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