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SpaceX ‘on track’ to launch astronauts in late 2017
SpaceX is on schedule to fly two NASA astronauts on a test flight to the International Space Station by the end of 2017, but there is a lot of work to do to ensure the company's new Crew Dragon spaceship is up to the task and ready in time, a SpaceX manager said Tuesday.
Falcon 9 sails through customary preflight engine firing
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket ignited its nine kerosene-fueled Merlin engines on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral on Tuesday evening in a critical milestone before liftoff with a commercial Thai communications satellite later in the week.
SpaceX pencils in July for next Falcon 9 landing at Cape Canaveral
The next chance for SpaceX to return a Falcon 9 booster to landing at Cape Canaveral will come in mid-July, when the company plans to launch a Dragon supply ship to the International Space Station, a company official said Tuesday.
First German commander among astronauts named for station flights
International Space Station managers have named crew members to future expeditions to the research lab in 2017 and 2018, including the first German commander of a space mission and Canada's third astronaut to fly a long-duration residency on the complex.
Upgraded Antares rolls out to launch pad for tests
An Antares booster emerged from its hangar on Virginia's Eastern Shore and rolled out to its launch pad Thursday for the first time since a rocket failure grounded Orbital ATK's cargo launcher in 2014.
Shuttle skipper, mountaineering spacewalker going into Hall of Fame
Commander of the 100th space shuttle flight and a spacewalker who later climbed Mount Everest will be inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday.
Cargo-carrying Dragon spaceship returns to Earth
SpaceX's Dragon supply ship departed the International Space Station on Wednesday, fired rocket thrusters to brake out of orbit, and parachuted to a picture-perfect splashdown in the Pacific Ocean with approximately 3,461 pounds of experiment samples and equipment.
Live coverage: Dragon supply ship back on Earth
SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft departed the International Space Station on Wednesday at 9:19 a.m. EDT (1319 GMT), concluding the commercial spaceship's eighth visit to the complex. Splashdown in the Pacific Ocean occurred at 2:55 p.m. EDT (1855 GMT).
VideoCompanies offer fresh perspectives on recent rocket landings
In case the the sight of a large rocket plummeting back to Earth, only to be slowed in the last seconds by a puff of thrust, hasn't lost its novelty yet, SpaceX and Blue Origin have released dramatic videos showing their recent powered rocket landings from new angles.
Key return to flight milestone looms for Antares rocket
Targeting a resumption of Antares cargo launches to the International Space Station as soon as July, Orbital ATK plans to roll out an upgraded Antares rocket to a launch pad in Virginia this week for a 30-second firing of the booster's new engines.