Live coverage of the departure of a Japanese cargo craft from the International Space Station. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter.
Falcon 9
Pending test outcomes, NASA says SpaceX could launch astronauts in early March
A NASA official said Friday that SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft could be ready to ferry astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to the International Space Station as soon as early March, pending the results from a major demonstration of the ship’s launch abort system this weekend, a pair of parachute drop tests, and space station crew schedules.
Mission Reports
Soyuz primed to launch veteran space station crew
A Soyuz rocket is sitting on a historic launch pad in Kazakhstan after a railroad journey at sunrise Wednesday positioned the crew ferry craft for liftoff Friday with a three-man crew destined for the International Space Station, including two spaceflight veterans who will spend nearly one year in orbit.
Mission Reports
Russians launch Progress supply ship to space station
Nine hours after a spectacular launch failure that destroyed a U.S. supply ship bound for the International Space Station, the Russians successfully launched a Progress cargo craft from snowy Kazakhstan carrying 5,793 pounds of rocket fuel, water, air, crew supplies and other equipment needed aboard the lab complex.