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Falcon 9 rocket test-fired for Axiom commercial crew mission
SpaceX rolled a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule to their launch pad Tuesday and test-fired the booster's engines Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center, setting up for launch Friday of four private space fliers on a 10-day mission to the International Space Station.
NASA bumps Artemis countdown rehearsal until after Axiom crew launch
NASA officials said Tuesday they are standing down from a cryogenic loading test on the agency's Space Launch System moon rocket until after the launch of a commercial crew mission from a neighboring pad at the Kennedy Space Center. A countdown test Monday was delayed by what NASA managers characterized as minor issues, including a liquid oxygen temperature concern and a manual valve that was left in the wrong configuration before teams evacuated the SLS launch pad.
VideoLive coverage: NASA astronaut returning home today with two Russian cosmonauts
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, wrapping up nearly one year in orbit, rode a Russian Soyuz spaceship back to Earth on Wednesday with Russian commander Anton Shkaplerov and flight engineer Pyotr Dubrov. The crew returned home from the International Space Station and landed in Kazakhstan at 7:28 a.m. EDT (1128 GMT).
NASA gives priority to Artemis ground test over commercial astronaut launch
NASA officials gave the green light Friday for the first all-commercial astronaut launch to the International Space Station on a SpaceX rocket as soon as April 3. But the astronaut launch could be delayed a day, or longer, to give priority to a countdown test for NASA's Space Launch System moon rocket on a neighboring launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center.
SpaceX’s new Dragon spaceship named ‘Freedom’
SpaceX's fourth human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft has been named "Freedom" by the first team of astronauts who will ride it into orbit next month.
VideoLive coverage: Russian cosmonauts launch on Soyuz rocket
An all-Russian crew of three cosmonauts launched Friday at 11:55 a.m. EDT (1555 GMT) from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, heading to orbit on a Soyuz rocket to begin a six-and-a-half month expedition on the International Space Station. The trio docked with the space station at 3:12 p.m. EDT (1912 GMT).
Three-man Russian crew ready for launch to International Space Station
Three cosmonauts set to kick off a six-and-a-half month expedition in orbit will launch Friday on Russia's first mission to the International Space Station since the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Astronauts prep for new solar arrays on nearly seven-hour spacewalk
Astronauts Kayla Barron and Raja Chari floated out of the International Space Station airlock for a spacewalk Tuesday, installing brackets and struts to support new solar arrays to upgrade the research lab's power system on the same day that crewmate Mark Vande Hei marked his 341st day in orbit, a U.S. record for a single spaceflight.
Boeing Starliner test flight next on ULA’s launch schedule
The U.S. Space Force has postponed a multi-spacecraft mission that was booked to fly on a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket in April, moving a redo of a test flight for Boeing's Starliner crew capsule to the front of the line on ULA's launch schedule.
NASA official says U.S.-Russian partnership continues on space station
Kathy Lueders, head of NASA's human spaceflight operations division, said Monday that joint activities on the International Space Station are continuing amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, including preparations for the return of NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei to Earth on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft March 30.