Mission Reports – Page 195

September 19, 2025

Breaking News

[ September 17, 2025 ] SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Falcon 9
[ September 16, 2025 ] NASA, Northrop Grumman postpone Cygnus XL arrival to ISS following propulsion issue Mission Reports
[ September 16, 2025 ] SpaceX scrubs launch of 24 Starlink satellites from Vandenberg SFB for a second day Falcon 9
[ September 15, 2025 ] Northrop Grumman’s 1st Cygnus XL spacecraft launches on cargo run to the space station Falcon 9
[ September 14, 2025 ] Launch preview: SpaceX to launch new, improved Northrop Grumman Cygnus XL resupply ship to the space station Falcon 9

Live coverage: Hayabusa 2 asteroid sample return capsule lands in Australia

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Japan’s Hayabusa 2 mission returned to Earth Saturday after a six-year mission to collect samples from asteroid Ryugu. The mission’s sample return capsule landed in in the Australian outback around shortly before 1 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) Saturday.

Japanese asteroid sampling mission on course for return to Earth

December 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Six years after departing Earth, Japan’s Hayabusa 2 spacecraft released a spinning capsule Saturday containing pristine asteroid material for a scorching re-entry and landing in the remote Australian outback, where teams are standing by to retrieve the specimens for analysis.

Photos: Upgraded Dragon cargo capsule rolls out to pad 39A

December 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

Ready for a flight to the International Space Station, SpaceX’s first upgraded Dragon cargo capsule rolled out to pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week in preparation for launch on top of a Falcon 9 rocket.

Space station to receive new commercial airlock from Nanoracks

December 4, 2020 Stephen Clark

A privately-funded airlock from Nanoracks will head for the International Space Station this weekend in the trunk of a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule, adding to the orbiting lab’s capacity for scientific experiments in another milestone for commercial space development.

China’s Chang’e 5 sample return craft takes off from the moon

December 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Wrapping up a busy two days on the lunar surface, a Chinese spacecraft carrying moon soil took off from a makeshift launch pad and fired back into orbit Thursday on the first leg of its journey back to Earth.

Soyuz rocket lifts off from Plesetsk with Russian relay satellites

December 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Three Russian Gonets communications satellites launched late Wednesday from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, riding a Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage into orbit on the second successful Soyuz mission in less than 24 hours.

Live coverage: Cargo Dragon arrives at space station

December 3, 2020 Stephen Clark

Loaded with more than 6,000 pounds of supplies, experiments, and hardware, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon freighter docked with the International Space Station at 1:40 p.m. EST (1840 GMT) Monday, one day after taking off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This was the first Dragon cargo mission to automatically dock with the space station.

Chinese probe completes sample collection work on lunar surface

December 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

Chinese officials said the Chang’e 5 mission finished drilling and scooping samples from a lunar lava plain late Wednesday, hours before the spacecraft’s robotic ascender was due to take off from the moon to begin the trip back to Earth.

Video replay of Chang’e 5’s landing on the moon

December 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

The China National Space Administration released an accelerated video replay of the Chang’e 5 spacecraft’s landing in the Oceanus Procellarum region of the moon Tuesday.

Soyuz rocket launches Emirati military satellite after lengthy delay

December 2, 2020 Stephen Clark

After months of delays caused by launch vehicle issues and the coronavirus pandemic, a Russian Soyuz rocket and Fregat upper stage took off from South America and delivered the French-built Falcon Eye 2 military observation satellite to an on-target orbit Tuesday night for the United Arab Emirates.