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Russians plan Thursday launch of two to space station
One week after a Russian Soyuz spacecraft departed the International Space Station and brought three crew members back to Earth, another Soyuz carrying a veteran cosmonaut and a first-time NASA flight engineer is ready for launch Thursday on a quick four-orbit flight to the orbiting lab complex.
VideoPhotos: Soyuz transferred to Baikonur launch pad
A Soyuz rocket poised to send two new crew members to the International Space Station rolled to its launch pad Tuesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

No commercial crew test flights expected this year
NASA has released new target dates for test flights of commercial crew capsules in development by SpaceX and Boeing, with unpiloted demo missions by SpaceX's Crew Dragon and Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spaceships now scheduled for January and March, followed by crewed orbital missions in mid-2019.

Station commander flatly denies any crew involvement in Soyuz leak
The head of the Russian space agency caused a stir last week when he said a hole drilled through the side of a Soyuz ferry ship docked to the International Space Station was the result of a deliberate act, "either on Earth or in space." Station commander Drew Feustel said Tuesday it most certainly did not happen in orbit.

Station crew faces busy schedule as commercial crew schedule ramps up
An impromptu repair job Thursday appears to have stopped a leak in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station, and the crew was back on its normal schedule Friday carrying out research and making preparations for the arrival of a Japanese cargo ship next month.

NASA signs off on SpaceX’s “load-and-go” procedure for crew launches
The NASA manager overseeing development of Boeing and SpaceX's commercial crew ferry ships says the space agency has approved SpaceX's proposal to strap in astronauts atop Falcon 9 rockets, then fuel the launchers in the final hour of the countdown as the company does for its uncrewed missions.

NASA reveals crews for first flights of commercial spaceships
NASA announced Friday a mix of spaceflight veterans and rookie astronauts who will launch on the first flights of new Boeing and SpaceX commercial spaceships starting as soon as next spring, several months later than previously scheduled.

SpaceX’s first space-worthy Crew Dragon capsule arrives at Cape Canaveral
SpaceX’s first Crew Dragon spacecraft, a capsule designed to eventually carry astronauts on treks to the International Space Station, has arrived at Cape Canaveral to begin preparations for launch on an unpiloted test flight later this year.

NASA could extend space station stays as hedge against commercial crew delays
NASA is working with the Russian space agency to potentially extend crew stays on the International Space Station, the agency's acting administrator said last week, as a cushion against expected delays in the development of commercial crew capsules by Boeing and SpaceX.

End to government shutdown should limit impact on space operations
NASA and the U.S. Air Force are expected to return to normal operations Tuesday after lawmakers passed a budget bill Monday evening, ending a government funding lapse that threatened to cut off live television coverage of an International Space Station spacewalk and interrupt SpaceX launch operations in Florida and California.