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Astronauts eager to see results of Crew Dragon test flight
The astronauts assigned to fly SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft beginning later this year said Friday they are excited for the capsule’s first orbital mission set for launch Saturday, but significant work remains before the ship is cleared to carry people.
Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon stand tall at pad 39A
These photos show the 215-foot-tall Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft at launch pad 39A, ready for liftoff from Florida's Space Coast on a critical test flight to the International Space Station.
Photos: Falcon 9 and Crew Dragon arrive at pad 39A for launch
SpaceX rolled the first Crew Dragon spacecraft out to a Florida launch pad Thursday for final preparations ahead of a test flight to the International Space Station.
VideoLive coverage: Crew Dragon capsule returns to Earth
SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft wrapped up its five-day stay at the International Space Station at 2:31 a.m. EST (0731 GMT) Friday with a smooth undocking, then nailed an on-target splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean east of Florida at 8:45 a.m. EST (1345 GMT).
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon ready for first test flight
SpaceX's first Crew Dragon spacecraft, fixed to the forward end of a Falcon 9 rocket, emerged Thursday from the company's hangar at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the quarter-mile journey to its launch mount at pad 39A, where liftoff is scheduled early Saturday on a critical test flight before astronauts strap into the ship later this year.
Forecasters expect good weather for Crew Dragon test launch Saturday
The first official launch weather outlook issued Tuesday by U.S. Air Force meteorologists predicts an 80 percent chance of favorable conditions for the predawn liftoff Saturday of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft on a test flight to the International Space Station.
Scorched SpaceX rocket returns to port in Florida, ready to launch a fourth time
Singed and blackened from three fiery trips to the edge of space and back, a Falcon 9 rocket returned to Cape Canaveral on Sunday after a mission last that week carried the Israeli Beresheet moon lander into orbit, ready for inspections before attempting a fourth -- and likely final -- launch this spring.
CubeSat deployed from space station to test sample return technology
One of five CubeSats deployed from the International Space Station last month is testing a steerable drag brake that could find use in future smallsats to return experiment samples to the ground from low Earth orbit, or on low-cost micro-probes to explore other planets.
Cygnus supply ship departs space station for extended mission
A commercial Cygnus supply ship departed the International Space Station on Friday for an extended mission to deploy five nanosatellites and conduct other experiments before re-entering the atmosphere and burning up with more than two tons of trash.
Falcon 9 rocket fires engines in key test ahead of Crew Dragon demo flight
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket sporting human-rating upgrades such as new composite pressurant tanks briefly ignited its nine Merlin engines Thursday afternoon on a launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and SpaceX later declared the pre-launch milestone complete in preparation for a critical test flight with a commercial crew capsule as soon as late February.