Mission Reports – Page 409

Live coverage: Soyuz crew capsule departs station, lands in Kazakhstan

September 2, 2017 Stephen Clark

A Russian Soyuz crew ferry craft departed the International Space Station and descended to an on-target landing in Kazakhstan on Saturday with a record-setting NASA astronaut, a veteran Russian cosmonaut and a former U.S. Air Force test pilot on-board. Undocking from the orbiting research complex occurred at 2158 GMT (5:58 p.m. EDT), with touchdown at 0121 GMT (9:21 p.m. EDT).

NASA’s most experienced astronaut set for return to Earth

September 2, 2017 William Harwood

Peggy Whitson, America’s most experienced astronaut with nearly two years in orbit over three missions, returns to Earth Saturday after an extended 288-day stay aboard the International Space Station, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan with Soyuz MS-04 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and NASA flight engineer Jack Fischer.

Video: Alternate view of Falcon 9 static fire

August 31, 2017 Stephen Clark

Check out an alternate view of Thursday’s static fire test of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Florida.

Falcon 9 rocket fired up for launch of military mini-shuttle

August 31, 2017 Stephen Clark

Running through a practice countdown and hold-down engine firing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket passed a key checkpoint Thursday ahead of liftoff next week with the U.S. Air Force’s fifth X-37B spaceplane flight, a mission that will come with several firsts.

Video: SpaceX rocket runs through hotfire test at pad 39A

August 31, 2017 Stephen Clark

SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 rocket ignited its Merlin main engines for several seconds Thursday at Kennedy Space Center’s pad 39A ahead of a planned launch next week.

Indian navigation satellite stranded on rocket after launch

August 31, 2017 Stephen Clark

An Indian navigation satellite remained stuck to its launcher after climbing into orbit Thursday when the rocket’s aerodynamic payload shroud failed to jettison as planned several minutes after liftoff, dealing the country’s workhorse booster its first total failure since 1993.

Photos: Minotaur 4 blasts off from Cape Canaveral

August 30, 2017 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled Minotaur 4 rocket lifted off early Saturday from Cape Canaveral with a U.S. military payload designed to monitor satellite traffic in geosynchronous orbit.

Photos: SpaceX rocket climbs into orbit from Vandenberg

August 28, 2017 Stephen Clark

The launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket Aug. 24 from California delivered Taiwan’s Formosat 5 Earth-imaging satellite to orbit, and the Falcon’s first stage booster returned to landing on a drone ship downrange in the Pacific Ocean.

Orbital imagery shows Harvey’s path toward Texas

August 27, 2017 Stephen Clark

Videos and photos from satellites and the crew aboard the International Space Station showed Hurricane Harvey bearing down on the Texas coast this weekend.

NASA flight controllers shelter in place during storm

August 27, 2017 William Harwood

Flight controllers and other essential personnel at NASA’s Johnson Space Center just south of Houston are sheltering in place, maintaining contact with the International Space Station during torrential rain and flooding across south Texas from the slow-moving remnants of Hurricane Harvey.