Mission Reports – Page 375

Live coverage: Yurchikhin, Fischer reach space station after fast-track rendezvous

April 20, 2017 Stephen Clark

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, on his fifth trip into space, and rookie NASA astronaut Jack Fischer, a Colorado native, blasted off aboard a Soyuz booster at 0713 GMT (3:13 a.m. EDT) Thursday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading for the International Space Station for a four-and-a-half month expedition. The duo docked with the orbiting outpost at 1318 GMT (9:18 a.m. EDT).

Soyuz crew set for Thursday launch to space station

April 19, 2017 William Harwood

Just 10 days after three space station fliers returned to Earth — and two days after launch of a station-bound supply ship — a veteran four-flight cosmonaut and an enthusiastic NASA rookie were cleared for launch Thursday to boost the lab’s crew up to five — one less than usual because of cost cutting by the Russian space agency.

Soyuz booster moved to launch pad to loft two-man crew

April 17, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled to its launch pad in Kazakhstan early Monday aboard a specially-designed rail car, three days before sending a Russian cosmonaut and U.S. astronaut to the International Space Station.

Photos: Soyuz MS-02 spaceship lands in Kazakhstan

April 10, 2017 Stephen Clark

Carrying three space station crew members back home after 173 days in orbit, the Russian Soyuz MS-02 landing craft touched down in Kazakhstan on Monday after a parachute-assisted descent through clear skies.

Video: Expedition 50 landing

April 10, 2017 Justin Ray

Remarkable video shot near Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, shows the Soyuz capsule descending under parachute for an on-target landing. The touchdown safely capped the three-man Expedition 50 crew’s 173-day mission to the International Space Station.

Soyuz makes pinpoint landing in Kazakhstan with crew of three

April 10, 2017 William Harwood

Astronaut Shane Kimbrough and his two Russian crewmates — Soyuz MS-02 commander Sergey Ryzhikov and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko — undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Monday, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out an extended 173-day mission.

Live coverage: Three-man crew closes out 173-day space mission

April 9, 2017 Stephen Clark

Outgoing space station commander Shane Kimbrough and two Russian crewmates returned to Earth on Monday, riding a Soyuz capsule in a bubble of hot plasma to a parachute-assisted landing in Kazakhstan. The trio undocked from the space station at 0757 GMT (3:57 a.m. EDT) and landed on the Kazakh steppe at 1120 GMT (7:20 a.m. EDT) Monday.

Whitson’s station expedition extended three months

April 5, 2017 William Harwood

NASA and Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, have agreed to extend astronaut Peggy Whitson’s stay aboard the International Space Station by three months to enable uninterrupted research aboard the orbital laboratory during a period when Russia is temporarily reducing its crew complement, the U.S. space agency said Wednesday.

Photos: SpaceX booster lands for second time on drone ship

April 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s reused Falcon 9 first stage booster returned to a landing on an ocean-going platform a few minutes after launching March 30 with the SES 10 communications satellite, then returned to Port Canaveral early Tuesday.

Musk previews busy year ahead for SpaceX

April 4, 2017 Stephen Clark

There’s a lot on SpaceX’s agenda this year if the company can maintain its pace, including refinements of the Falcon 9 rocket to hasten refurbishment between flights and the debut of the long-delayed Falcon Heavy launch vehicle with two side boosters recycled from previous missions, Elon Musk said after last week’s successful liftoff of a previously-flown rocket.