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Soyuz crew set for Friday launch to space station
Launch of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft Friday carrying three fresh crew members to the International Space Station will boost the lab's crew back to six and, most important from NASA's perspective, dramatically boost research with four crew members -- three NASA astronauts and a veteran European flier -- available to operate experiments in the American segment of the laboratory.
Soyuz with two-man crew lands safely in Kazakhstan
Leaving crewmate Peggy Whitson behind in orbit for an extended mission, a Russian cosmonaut and his French co-pilot undocked from the International Space Station early Friday and plunged back to Earth, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 196-day mission.
Astronauts replace failed computer in short spacewalk
After a bit of a struggle with a balky bolt, space station commander Peggy Whitson replaced a failed external computer during a short, hurriedly planned spacewalk Tuesday while crewmate Jack Fischer installed a pair of antennas to improve wireless communications during future excursions.
VideoHurriedly planned ‘contingency’ spacewalk on tap Tuesday
Space station commander Peggy Whitson and astronaut Jack Fischer are set for a two-and-a-half hour spacewalk Tuesday, a quickly-planned excursion to replace a recently installed external computer that failed Saturday.
President Trump calls International Space Station
President Trump called the International Space Station Monday for a videochat watched by thousands of school kids, congratulating commander Peggy Whitson on becoming America's most experienced astronaut and jokingly promising to get Americans to Mars "during my first term or, at worst, during my second term."
Two fresh crew members join space station expedition
Veteran cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin and rookie flight engineer Jack Fischer streaked into orbit aboard a Russian Soyuz ferry craft Thursday, chased down the International Space Station and glided to a smooth docking to complete a six-hour rendezvous.
Soyuz crew set for Thursday launch to space station
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.
Whitson’s station expedition extended three months
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.
Spacewalkers improvise after fabric shield floats away
Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson, setting a new record as the world's most experienced female spacewalker, floated outside the International Space Station Thursday and continued work to set up a second docking port for U.S. crew ferry ships. They also installed an upgraded computer relay box and protective shielding before calling it a day.
Astronauts gear up for spacewalks, resupply launch delayed
NASA is gearing up for an intense few weeks of work aboard the International Space Station, staging three spacewalks, moving a docking port from one module to another to support commercial crew ferry ships and capturing an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo ship carrying nearly 4 tons of equipment and supplies.