Space Station

A SpaceX supply ship blazed a trail through the atmosphere over the southeastern United States Thursday night and splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida, returning home with 2.3 tons of research specimens and cargo from the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Cargo Dragon supply ship undocked from the International Space Station Thursday and headed for splashdown off the coast of Florida. The reusable cargo capsule departed the station at 9:12 a.m. EDT (1312 GMT). Splashdown off the east coast of Florida occurred at 10:57 p.m. EDT (0257 GMT).

Three days after a Russian spacewalk, Japanese space station commander Akihiko Hoshide and Frenchman Thomas Pesquet floated outside for their own excursion Sunday, building a support fixture for a roll-out solar array blanket that will be attached later.

Two Russian spacewalkers connected a new laboratory module to the International Space Station’s power grid Friday, routing and plugging in eight cables to tap into electricity generated by NASA’s solar power system.

Closing out a 31-hour flight from a launch pad in Florida, a SpaceX Cargo Dragon capsule autonomously docked with the International Space Station Monday, delivering experiments, supplies, and fresh food to the complex.

A planned spacewalk outside the International Space Station Tuesday was postponed after NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei was diagnosed with a pinched nerve, which NASA described as a “minor medical issue.”