Month: August 2019
Live coverage: Dragon supply ship returns to Earth
A commercial Dragon cargo capsule is heading back to Earth Tuesday to conclude a 31-day stay at the International Space Station. The SpaceX-owned spacecraft was released from the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm at 10:59 a.m. EDT (1459 GMT), and the Dragon supply ship splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with nearly 3,400 pounds of cargo at 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT).
Second time’s the charm for Soyuz docking
Two days after a dramatic docking abort, an unpiloted Russian Soyuz spacecraft glided in for a picture-perfect link up with the International Space Station late Monday, using a different port the second time around and in the process confirming the problem Saturday was with faulty rendezvous equipment in the original docking port.
Soyuz capsule swaps docking ports on space station, clearing way for new arrival
Flying by hand, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov undocked his Soyuz space capsule from the International Space Station late Sunday (U.S. time) and maneuvered the ship to a new parking spot on the million-pound research complex, clearing the way for the arrival of a new Soyuz spacecraft Monday night after aborting its first approach.
Station crew to clear new port for second Soyuz docking attempt
Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, joined by Italian flight engineer Luca Parmitano and NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan, plans to relocate his Soyuz spacecraft to a new docking port on the International Space Station late Sunday (U.S. time), clearing a spot for the unpiloted Soyuz MS-14 spaceship to attempt another automated approach to the complex Monday after aborting its first rendezvous, Russian officials said.
Five more Delta 4-Heavy flights in ULA backlog after final “single stick” launch
The last Delta 4 launcher to fly in a single-core configuration rumbled into space Thursday morning from Cape Canaveral with a GPS navigation satellite, leaving United Launch Alliance with five more Delta 4-Heavy missions on contract through late 2023 before the Delta rocket family retires from service.