World News Update: SpaceX set to launch Crew-13 from Cape Canaveral, Florida; passengers foil Flydubai cockpit attack

Launch: Falcon 9 Crew-13 (before liftoff)

Rocket

SpaceX Falcon 9 Block 5

Launch site

Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, Florida

Time (CT)

Instantaneous window 10:10 a.m. CT Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026 (11:10 a.m. EDT / 15:10:06 UTC). NASA’s mission page confirms 11:10 a.m. EDT Oct. 1, 2026.

Result

Awaiting liftoff. Launch Library 2 lists the mission as Go for Launch. SpaceX’s weather update cited about a 40% GO probability, with concerns including the Cumulus Cloud Rule, Flight Through Precipitation, and Thick Cloud Layers Rule.

Cargo

Crew Dragon Grace with four astronauts/cosmonauts bound for the International Space Station (NASA Commercial Crew Program): Commander Jessica Watkins (NASA), Pilot Luke Delaney (NASA), Mission Specialist Joshua Kutryk (Canadian Space Agency), and Mission Specialist Sergey Teteryatnikov (Roscosmos). Capsule Grace (C213) is on its second flight (previously Axiom-4).

Booster

B1101, third flight (reused; previously Starlink Group 6-88 and Crew-12). Planned landing: Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40) return-to-launch-site at Cape Canaveral (~7.5 minutes after liftoff, per Spaceflight Now).

Our view Another step toward Mars: reusable Falcon booster flights and human-rated Crew Dragon missions build the flight cadence and reuse culture SpaceX needs for Starship missions that will eventually carry people to Mars.

NASA and SpaceX plan live webcast coverage of the Crew-13 launch. Watch on NASA’s broadcast channels and on SpaceX’s website and X (@SpaceX).

World news since the 6 AM brief

• Passengers and crew foil cockpit attack on Israel-bound Flydubai flight Flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, after what Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said was a cockpit stabbing in which one pilot apparently tried to crash the aircraft, the Associated Press and Fox News reported. Flight-tracking data cited by AP showed the jet dropped from about 33,000 feet to 17,000 feet in roughly a minute; passengers and crew subdued the alleged attacker, identified by Israeli officials as an Omani co-pilot, and reserve flydubai pilots landed the plane safely with more than 170 people aboard. Flydubai suspended all Israel flights pending investigation. (Associated Press, Fox News, The Guardian)
• Trump frames Iran choice as ‘blow them up or make a deal’; Rubio ordered Iranian U.N. team to leave NYC President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office late Wednesday that Washington must decide whether to escalate further or negotiate with Iran, saying, “We have to make that decision: We blow them up or make a deal,” and that the confrontation would end “very soon, one way or the other,” Firstpost reported. Separately, Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his U.N. General Assembly delegation to leave New York earlier than planned after weekend mediator talks stalled, two U.S. officials told the Associated Press; Iran’s U.N. mission denied any order and said it left on its pre-notified schedule. (New York Post, Firstpost)
• Pakistan launches overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan; Kabul says civilians killed Pakistan carried out overnight airstrikes in Afghanistan’s Kunar and Helmand provinces, Al Jazeera reported with Reuters, as both sides released conflicting casualty figures. Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at least nine people were killed and 11 wounded, describing the dead as women and children; Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the strikes hit Pakistan Taliban and Balochistan Liberation Army hideouts and that initial reports suggested 22 militants were killed. (Al Jazeera / Reuters, Reuters via Economic Times)

Earlier: the full 6 AM World Brief (Flydubai cockpit attack, Iran/Trump–Rubio, Pakistan airstrikes, SCOTUS Pike)