William Harwood – Page 9 – Spaceflight Now

SpaceX Crew Dragon poised for overnight launch to space station

February 26, 2023 William Harwood

SpaceX is counting down to the deep overnight launch early Monday of a Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon capsule carrying two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and a history-making United Arab Emirates astronaut to the International Space Station.

Replacement Soyuz launched on flight to space station

February 24, 2023 William Harwood

A Russian Soyuz crew ferry ship blasted off from Kazakhstan Thursday, kicking off an unpiloted but critical flight to the International Space Station to replace a damaged Soyuz and provide an eventual ride home for three of the lab’s crew members.

Multinational crew arrives at Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations

February 21, 2023 William Harwood

Two NASA astronauts, a Russian cosmonaut and an Emirati flew to the Kennedy Space Center Tuesday to begin preparations for launch early Monday on a SpaceX Crew Dragon flight to replace four crew members aboard the International Space Station who are wrapping up a five-month stay.

Russia delays next Soyuz launch pending assessment of coolant leaks

February 13, 2023 William Harwood

Launch of a Russian Soyuz crew capsule to replace a damaged ferry ship docked at the International Space Station is being delayed in the wake of a second incident that resulted in similar damage to a Progress cargo ship, a senior official said Monday.

Russian cargo ship docks as second Progress suffers sudden loss of coolant

February 11, 2023 William Harwood

A Russian Progress supply ship successfully docked with the International Space Station early Saturday but in an unlikely, presumed coincidence, another Progress, docked at a different port, suffered a sudden loss of coolant similar to an incident that disabled a Soyuz crew ship in December.

20 years after Columbia disaster, lessons learned still in sharp focus at NASA

February 1, 2023 William Harwood

Twenty years ago, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart high over Texas on the way to landing in Florida, killing a crew of seven astronauts in a tragedy with long-lasting consequences that still reverberate across the space program.

Russians assess flight worthiness of damaged Soyuz docked at space station

December 19, 2022 William Harwood

Russian managers are assessing whether a damaged Soyuz spacecraft docked at the International Space Station can safely carry its three-man crew back to Earth in late March as planned or whether a replacement must be launched to take its place, officials said Monday.

SpaceX launches $1.2 billion U.S.-French satellite to survey world’s water

December 16, 2022 William Harwood

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched a $1.2 billion NASA satellite early Friday to monitor Earth’s oceans, rivers and lakes with a high-power radar and other sensitive instruments to better assess the movement of the planet’s water and the impacts of climate change.

Orion moonship closes in for Sunday re-entry and splashdown

December 10, 2022 William Harwood

Closing out a 25-day voyage around the moon, NASA’s Artemis 1 spacecraft closed in on Earth Saturday, on track for a 25,000-mph re-entry Sunday that will subject the unpiloted capsule to a hellish 5,000-degree inferno before splashdown off Baja California.

Orion sails through halfway point of Artemis 1 moon mission

November 28, 2022 William Harwood

At the halfway point in NASA’s Artemis 1 mission, the unpiloted Orion moonship is chalking up a near-flawless flight, mission managers said Monday, beaming back spectacular images of Earth disappearing from view as it was eclipsed by the moon.