Tag: International Space Station

NASA has called off a planned cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) due to a damaged spacecraft. The spacecraft is a robotic Cygnus freighter, built by the Virginia-based company Northrop Grumman. It had been scheduled to launch several tons of food, fuel and other supplies to the ISS from Florida’s Space Coast this June. On March 5, however, NASA announced that Cygnus’ shipping container sustained damage during the trip to the launch site. The agency had said mission teams would inspect the freighter over the coming days to…

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A pod of bottlenose dolphins circled and surfaced nearby SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom after it splashed down off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. (Image credit: NASA/Keegan Barber) As it turns out, more than humans were interested in the return of SpaceX’s Crew-9 astronauts after an extended mission on board the International Space Station. An unexpected welcome committee arrived soon after the Crew Dragon “Freedom” splashed down on Tuesday, March 18. What is it? SpaceX support team members work around and on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft…

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The first astronauts to fly on board two different commercial spacecraft during a single mission have returned to Earth, splashing down with two of their International Space Station crewmates. Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore did not set out to make history other than being the first crew to launch on Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner capsule. After their capsule encountered propulsion issues, though, and NASA, out of an abundance of caution, decided to land it without them on board, Williams and Wilmore were reassigned to SpaceX‘s Crew Dragon to complete…

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Liftoff! Four astronauts are flying toward the International Space Station (ISS) to relieve crew members who have been waiting for a ride home since last summer. SpaceX launched the Crew Dragon capsule Endurance on a Falcon 9 rocket this evening (March 14) from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) here on Florida’s Space Coast. The mission, called Crew-10, lifted off from KSC’s Launch Complex-39A at 7:03 p.m. EDT (2303 GMT), carrying mission commander Anne McClain and mission pilot Nichole Ayers, both of NASA, and mission specialists Takuya…

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SpaceX won’t launch its next astronaut mission for NASA today (March 12) after all. The company had planned to send the four-person Crew-10 mission toward the International Space Station (ISS) atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center in Florida this evening at 7:48 p.m. EDT (2348 GMT). About 45 minutes before liftoff, however, SpaceX called the attempt off due to a hydraulics issue with the transporter-erector, the structure that hauls the Falcon 9 to the pad and supports it once it’s there. “Great working with you today,” Crew-10…

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Update for 7:50 pm ET: SpaceX called off its planned launch of the Crew-10 astronaut mission for NASA due to a hydraulics issue with a clamp device on ground equipment securing the crew’s Falcon 9 rocket to the launch pad. Read our wrap story on today’s launch attempt. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Members of the SpaceX Crew-10 mission are bound for the launch pad ahead of their journey to space. NASA astronauts Anne McClain and Nichole Ayers, as well as JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos…

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Two NASA astronauts who launched on a short mission to the International Space Station last year that turned into a 9-month marathon finally know when they’ll be coming home. The Boeing Starliner astronauts, who launched on the spacecraft’s Crewed Flight Test on June 5, have been living aboard the International Space Station (ISS) ever since after their capsule returned to Earth without them. On Friday (March 7), NASA cleared a relief crew to launch on SpaceX Dragon next week, setting the stage for their long-awaited return to Earth. NASA astronauts…

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A new delivery of food, fuel and supplies has arrived at the International Space Station by way of a Russian supply ship. Roscomsos’ Progress MS-30 (or Progress 91, as referred to by NASA) cargo spacecraft autonomously docked to the aft port of the space station’s Zvezda service module on Saturday (March 1) as the two vehicles orbited 260 miles (418 kilometers) over the South Atlantic Ocean. The 6:02 p.m. EST (2302 GMT) link up came two days after the Progress launched from the Baikonur Cosmdrome in Kazakhstan. The uncrewed spacecraft…

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Elon Musk thinks we should start moving on from the International Space Station (ISS). “It is time to begin preparations for deorbiting the @Space_Station. It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility. Let’s go to Mars,” the SpaceX chief and close Trump adviser said via X today (Feb. 20). In another X post, he laid out his preferred timeline: “The decision is up to the President, but my recommendation is as soon as possible. I recommend 2 years from now.” NASA and its partners on the ISS…

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Boeing’s Starliner astronauts are in the final stretch of their unexpectedly long stint in Earth orbit — and they’re setting the record straight on all the “stranded astronauts” talk. NASA’s Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched to the International Space Station (ISS) last June on the first crewed test flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft. The duo expected their orbital stay to last about 10 days, but Starliner experienced thruster malfunctions during its approach and docking maneuvers. This led to an extensive investigation by NASA and Boeing back on the ground,…

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