As his year-long mission aboard the International Space Station draws to a close, Expedition 46 commander Scott Kelly of NASA gives a final in-flight news conference with U.S. media on Feb. 25. Kelly and cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov are preparing for their return to Earth on March 1, U.S. time, aboard the Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft.
Falcon 9
Space station cargo flight next on SpaceX’s launch schedule
In a reshuffling of SpaceX’s launch schedule, a Falcon 9 rocket is set for liftoff no earlier than Dec. 8 on a mission to deliver several tons of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station and return to service a Cape Canaveral launch pad damaged in a catastrophic rocket explosion last year.
News
Earth observation, deep space exploration big winners in new ESA budget
European Space Agency member states on Thursday committed nearly 12.5 billion euros ($13.8 billion) to fund ESA programs over the next three years, promising money to grow Europe’s fleet of satellites studying Earth’s changing climate, contribute to NASA-led lunar exploration efforts, and continue ESA’s participation in the International Space Station until 2030.
