Tag: International Space Station

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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Are you ready to catch the big game? On Sunday (Feb. 9), across the United States and around the world, Americans and American football fans will tune in to watch the top two teams in the National Football League (NFL) go head-to-head in the ultimate post-season game, and even astronauts living in space will have the chance to watch the action live. Sunday evening, the American Football Conference (AFC) champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, will face off against the National Football Conference (NFC) champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, in Super Bowl…

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Two NASA astronauts working outside of the International Space Station on Thursday (Jan. 30) were able to finally remove a faulty radio communications unit, succeeding where two previous spacewalks had been unsuccessful. The extended work needed to free the radio frequency group (RFG) by Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore came at a cost, though, as the two ran out of time to accomplish all of the tasks planned for Thursday’s EVA (extravehicular activity). Williams and Wilmore, who launched together on Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft and are serving together on…

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An X-ray observatory used to study neutron stars is “back in the black” and a cosmic ray detector is ready for possible future upgrades after two astronauts completed a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS). Nick Hague worked to repair the Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer, or NICER, mounted to the outside of the space station, before he and Expedition 72 commander Suni Williams inspected the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) during a six-hour EVA (extravehicular activity) on Thursday (Jan. 16). Hague and Williams began the spacewalk at 8:01 a.m.…

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SpaceX’s 31st robotic cargo mission is headed back to Earth. SpaceX’s Dragon cargo capsule undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) on schedule today (Dec. 16) at 11:05 a.m. EST (1605 GMT) today (Dec. 16). The spacecraft will begin a series of deorbit burns to complete the company’s 31st commercial resupply services mission (CRS-31) for NASA, splashing down of the coast of Florida tomorrow (Dec. 17). The agency won’t webcast the splashdown but will provide updates via its ISS blog. CRS-31 is returning to Earth with thousands of pounds of…

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