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VideoLive coverage: Four private astronauts launch to International Space Station
Four private citizens rode into orbit Friday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, taking aim on the International Space Station on the first all-commercial mission to visit the research complex. Liftoff from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida occurred at 11:17 a.m. EDT (1517 GMT).
SpaceX ready for launch of first all-commercial crew to space station
SpaceX and a Houston company are gearing up to launch four private citizens Friday on the first NASA-sanctioned, fully commercial flight to the International Space Station, a key step in a government push to encourage private-sector development on the high frontier.
NASA’s SLS moon rocket, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 share the scene at Kennedy Space Center
NASA’s Artemis 1 moon rocket and SpaceX’s Falcon 9 shared the scene Wednesday at the Kennedy Space Center — the first time since 2009 that rockets have stood on both pads at Launch Complex 39.
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.
NASA astronaut back on Earth after record-setting flight
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei joined two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth Wednesday, landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a U.S.-record 355-day stay in space.
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 astronaut, two cosmonauts set for Wednesday return to Earth
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, launched by Russia to the International Space Station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft last April, returns this week to a world torn by war in Ukraine and escalating superpower tension as he closes out a 355-day stay in orbit, the longest single flight by a U.S. astronaut.
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.