Kutryk Crew-13 Orbits as Canada Debates Launch Act

Kutryk Settles Aboard Station as Crew-12 Prepares to Depart

CSA astronaut Josh Kutryk is five days into a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station after launching on Crew-13 on Thursday, Oct. 1. He is the second Canadian Space Agency astronaut to fly in 2026, following Jeremy Hansen’s departure to the Moon on Artemis II roughly six months earlier.

Kutryk launched from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station aboard a SpaceX Dragon, docking to the Harmony module’s forward port the same day alongside NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov. The quartet began unpacking Dragon and familiarizing themselves with station systems for their research mission.

The arrival coincided with a command transition. On Sunday, Oct. 4, Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov accepted command of Expedition 75 from NASA astronaut Jessica Meir during a traditional change of command ceremony.

Roscosmos cosmonaut Pyotr Dubrov (front left) accepts command of the International Space Station from NASA astronaut Jessica Meir (front right) as the rest of the Expedition 75 crew looks on during a… | Source: NASA

The departing Crew-12 spacecraft is scheduled to close its hatch on Wednesday, Oct. 7, undock later that day, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, Oct. 8, returning four astronauts after six months on station.

CSA director of astronauts and life sciences Mathieu Caron noted at a post-launch press conference that David Saint-Jacques — who flew the last CSA ISS mission in 2018–19, spending 204 days in space — served as astronaut escort for Kutryk’s family during launch. Kutryk’s family includes his wife, two young children, and a third child who will be born during his mission. Some of Saint-Jacques’ research continues through Kutryk’s mission, and Caron said operational procedures were refined after polling Saint-Jacques on improvements over the intervening eight years.

Beyond human spaceflight, Canadian industry continues active work in nuclear materials, sovereign launch, and satellites — including Canadian payloads that flew on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission, which also launched on Oct. 1.

Parliament Returns to Bill C-28, Canada’s Space Launch Framework

With Parliament reconvened this fall, Bill C-28 — the Canadian Space Launch Act — returns to second reading after debate began on April 28 before the summer break. The legislation would amend the Aeronautics Act to create Canada’s first dedicated legal framework for rocket launches and re-entries, covering permits, launch site certification, liability and indemnification, and zoning around spaceports.

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon told MPs during the April debate that Canada is “the only G7 country without its own sovereign space launch and re-entry capabilities.” Transport Canada has been authorizing launches case by case under an interim regime since 2023.

The bill would likely proceed to the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities for witness hearings and clause-by-clause review. With 40 sitting days remaining in the House of Commons calendar, Royal Assent before year’s end is possible but more likely in 2027.

Meanwhile, more than two years after Ottawa announced that “substantive negotiations” on a Technology Safeguards Agreement with the United States had been completed, the agreement remains unsigned.

NASA Satellite Captures Beaver-Brown Waters of Rupert Bay

Dark brown water from the Nottaway, Harricanaw, and Moose rivers swirls into dark blue bay waters and mingles with plumes of lighter brown suspended sediment. Charlton Island and the much smaller… | Source: NASA Science

NASA’s Earth Observatory featured an image today of the distinctive brown waters flowing into Rupert Bay and Hannah Bay, the southernmost extensions of James Bay in northern Quebec and Ontario. Captured in late September 2026 by the OLI-2 instrument, the image shows dark brown river water from the Nottaway, Harricanaw, and Moose rivers swirling into the darker blue bay waters, with Charlton Island visible near the shoreline.

The brown colour comes from colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) — organic substances derived from tannins and lignins that leach from decaying leaves, roots, bark, and soils as waterways wind through boreal forests and wetlands. The Cree word pahtaaunaakun, meaning “color of singed beaver” in Southern East Cree, evokes both the distinctive hue and the role beavers have long played in the mythology and history of the region.

Citations

“With Kutryk in space, next up is launching a Canadian space strategy” — https://spaceq.ca/with-kutryk-in-space-next-up-is-launching-a-canadian-space-strategy/
“Canadian Space Launch Act fall session update and whatever happened to the Technology Safeguards Agreement with the U.S.” — https://spaceq.ca/canadian-space-launch-act-second-reading-technology-safeguards-agreement/
“Expedition 75 Welcomes Crew-13 and Preps for Crew-12 Departure” — https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/spacestation/2026/10/05/expedition-75-welcomes-crew-13-and-preps-for-crew-12-departure/
“The Beaver Brown Waters of Rupert Bay” — https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/the-beaver-brown-waters-of-rupert-bay/

NeonSat-2 to 6

Provider: Korea Aerospace Research Institute
Date: October 7, 2026
Time: 3:23 AM UTC
Vehicle: Nuri

NeonSat-2 to 6 are part of the South Korean government’s Earth observation micro-satellite constellation NeonSat (New-space Earth Observation Satellite). The NeonSat constellation is the first satellite system developed by the government using a mass-production approach for precise monitoring of the Korean Peninsula.

SDA Tranche 1 Transport Layer A

Provider: SpaceX
Date: October 8, 2026
Time: 7:54 AM UTC
Vehicle: Falcon 9

Tranche 1 Transport Layer A is one of six missions by the United States Space Force Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA) Tranche 1 Transport Layer constellation, which will provide assured, resilient, low-latency military data and connectivity worldwide to the full range of warfighter platforms from Low Earth Orbit satellites.

The constellation will be interconnected with Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISLs) which have significantly increased performance over existing radio frequency crosslinks. It is expected to operate over Ka band, have stereo coverage and be dynamically networked for simpler hand-offs, greater bandwidth and fault tolerance.

This launch carries 21 satellites manufactured by Northrop Grumman.

Unknown Payload

Provider: China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation
Date: October 9, 2026
Time: 7:25 PM UTC
Vehicle: Long March 12

Details TBD.

Starlink Group 15-25

Provider: SpaceX
Date: October 10, 2026
Time: 11:00 PM UTC
Vehicle: Falcon 9

A batch of 27 satellites for the Starlink mega-constellation – SpaceX’s project for space-based Internet communication system.

Dragon CRS-2 SpX-35

Provider: SpaceX
Date: October 13, 2026
Time: 10:33 AM UTC
Vehicle: Falcon 9

35th commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station operated by SpaceX. The flight will be conducted under the second Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA.

Cargo Dragon 2 brings supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support science and research investigations that occur onboard the orbiting laboratory.