Tag: ISS
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International Space Station finishes challenging year as plans are made for its retirement
The International Space Station continues to act as humanity’s outpost in low-Earth orbit, a role that began at the turn of this century. However, the ISS is showing its age and plans are being advanced for its retirement around 2030. Several events on the Station in 2024 underlined just how the ISS program was dealing…
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ISS and Expedition 72 crew stay busy with experiments, cargo arrivals, and spacecraft movements
The International Space Station and the Expedition 72 crew have transitioned from an eventful summer into a more normal, operational routine in the last few months, although the Station has dealt with unexpected issues in recent weeks. Station commander Suni Williams and her Boeing Crewed Flight Test crewmate Butch Wilmore, both veteran NASA astronauts and…
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Launch Roundup: Sentinel 1C and PROBA 3 among ten planned launches
This week is busy in spaceflight, with 10 orbital launches planned throughout the week. China has, as expected, continued its launch cadence from last week with three more launches this week. SpaceX planned to launch five Falcon 9 missions in five days with the launches of four Starlink missions and one customer payload but has…
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After Russian ship docks to space station, astronauts report a foul smell
It should have been a routine mission to ferry about three tons of food, fuel, and supplies to the International Space Station, but when Russian cosmonauts opened the hatch to a cargo spacecraft on Saturday, they got a surprise—a toxic smell. “After opening the Progress spacecraft’s hatch, the Roscosmos cosmonauts noticed an unexpected odor and…
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Launch Roundup: Falcon 9 launches continue, Rocket Lab to launch two Electrons, Russia to fly to ISS
Following the sixth flight of SpaceX’s Starship on Tuesday, eight additional orbital launches were planned worldwide. Rocket Lab launched an experimental hypersonic testbed payload using a modified Electron from Wallops. What’s more, a second Electron launched a batch of nanosatellites into low-Earth orbit from New Zealand less than 24 hours later. Meanwhile, SpaceX continued to…
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After 31 cargo missions, NASA finds Dragon still has some new tricks
A Cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Tuesday morning, less than a day after lifting off from Florida. As space missions go, this one was fairly routine, ferrying about 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) of cargo and science experiments to the space station. Over the course of nearly a dozen years, this…
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After 31 cargo missions, NASA finds Dragon still has some new tricks
A Cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station on Tuesday morning, less than a day after lifting off from Florida. As space missions go, this one was fairly routine, ferrying about 6,000 pounds (2,700 kg) of cargo and science experiments to the space station. Over the course of nearly a dozen years, this…
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Commercial industry gears up for ISS replacement around 2030 amid concerns
NASA and the commercial space industry are planning for the eventual replacement of the International Space Station (ISS), which is currently set for 2030. Companies like Axiom and VAST have already started construction on the first modules of their planned commercial stations, while others are also planning to offer commercial station capability in the future.…
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Dragon receives long-planned propulsive landing upgrade after years of development
SpaceX announced a new capability for the Dragon spacecraft on Sept. 27 in the unlikely event of a parachute failure. Dragon now has built-in redundancy to propulsively land using its SuperDraco thrusters, saving the vehicle and potential crew from a rough landing or imminent danger. SpaceX introduced the concept of a propulsive landing Dragon over…
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SpaceX, NASA launches Crew-9 with two people
SpaceX and NASA have launched Crew-9 for its six-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule, originally set to launch with four people, launched with only two. The empty seats will be used by Boeing Crew Flight Test astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams is to return home in February…