NASA’s ‘unlucky number 13’ curse proved wrong after Crew-13’s launch:What is ‘triskaidekaphobia,’ and how did Apollo incident highlight the fear of 13?

For decades, the number 13 has had an unusual place in NASA’s history. After the troubled Apollo 13 mission and a later change in Space Shuttle numbering, NASA largely avoided using 13 for major US crewed missions. That changed on October 1, 2026. SpaceX launched NASA’s Crew-13 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), making it the first US crewed mission in decades to openly carry the number 13. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The four-member crew, NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Joshua Kutryk, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Teteryatnikov, are travelling to the ISS for a long-duration science mission. Why is 13 considered unlucky? The fear of the number 13 is known as ‘triskaidekaphobia.’ It is a superstition found in several cultures, although there is no scientific evidence that the number itself brings bad luck. NASA’s association with the number became particularly famous because of Apollo 13. Apollo 13 launched in April 1970 and was supposed to be NASA’s third mission to land astronauts on the Moon. But an oxygen-tank explosion damaged the spacecraft during the journey, forcing NASA to abandon the planned lunar landing and focus on bringing the three astronauts safely back to Earth. Astronaut Fred Haise, who served as the lunar module pilot, later said he did not believe the number 13 had anything to do with what happened. I never thought of it in a superstitious sense, that we would have a problem on 13. Despite the accident, Apollo 13 became an important example of how NASA handled a major emergency in space and safely returned its crew to Earth. NASA later avoided the number 13 The Apollo 13 incident became part of the number’s unusual history, but NASA’s later decision to avoid 13 was also connected to how the Space Shuttle programme was being organised. The Shuttle missions were originally numbered sequentially. After STS-9, however, NASA introduced a new and more complicated system. Under that system, the mission that could have been called STS-13 became STS-41C. There has long been a story that NASA changed the numbering partly because then-NASA Administrator James Beggs disliked the number 13. Former astronauts have supported that explanation.
However, NASA says the numbering change also reflected the agency’s plans for a much larger and more complex Shuttle launch schedule. The new system used numbers and letters to indicate things such as the fiscal year, launch location, and flight sequence. The system did not last forever. After the 1986 Challenger disaster, NASA returned to sequential Shuttle numbering, with the next mission designated STS-26. Also read: WhatsApp starts charging for certain messages businesses send to customers: Why is Meta putting a fee, and will every text now cost money?

Crew-13 finally brings the number back More than four decades later, NASA has once again put 13 directly into the name of a US crewed mission. Crew-13 is the 13th crew rotation mission under SpaceX’s human space transportation system.
NASA describes it as the 14th Dragon flight with astronauts under its Commercial Crew Program, because the programme’s Demo-2 test flight is also included in the total. The crew does not appear to be treating the number as something to fear. In fact, they deliberately incorporated references to Apollo 13 into their mission insignia. Crew commander Jessica Watkins said the team wanted to recognise the Apollo 13 astronauts and the way they handled their difficult mission. 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. The Crew-13 insignia includes design elements inspired by Apollo 13, including Roman numerals, a golden colour and a dragon pointing upward. Also read: Boeing that carried Sunita Williams is set to fly again: What went wrong with Starliner 1 in 2024 what does Crew 13 have to do with it?

Crew-13 gives ‘13’ a new meaning Crew-13’s launch provides a very different story from Apollo 13. Instead of an emergency during a Moon mission, the new Crew-13 mission began with a successful launch into orbit aboard a Falcon 9 and Dragon spacecraft. NASA reported that the spacecraft safely reached orbit after liftoff. The astronauts are heading to the ISS for a long-duration expedition involving scientific research and station operations. Their mission is expected to last about six months. So, while Crew-13 cannot scientifically ‘prove’ that the number 13 is lucky or unlucky, its successful launch highlights an important point: the number itself has no known power to affect the outcome of a space mission.
After more than 50 years of unusual history surrounding the number, NASA has finally given ‘13’ another place in the story of human spaceflight.