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VideoCrucial first fueling test on tap for SLS core stage later this month
If all goes according to plan, engineers in southern Mississippi later this month will load cryogenic propellants into the core stage of a rocket NASA says will launch astronauts back to the moon, exposing its tankage and internal plumbing to extreme operating conditions hundreds of degrees below zero for the first time. The fueling test -- a major milestone in its own right -- is a precursor to a high-stakes eight-minute test-firing of the Space Launch System's four shuttle-era main engines planned as soon as November.
VideoLive coverage: Cygnus supply ship arrives at International Space Station
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus supply ship packed with fresh food, experiments, and a new toilet for the International Space Station approached the orbiting research lab Monday, two-and-a-half days after launching from Virginia aboard an Antares rocket. Capture of Cygnus with the station's robotic arm occurred at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT).
VideoDragon astronauts describe sounds and sensations of return to Earth
Two days after becoming the first U.S. space fliers to splash down in the sea in more than 45 years, astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on Tuesday described their fiery ride back to Earth aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon capsule to cap a "flawless" test flight, setting the stage for operational flights beginning later this year.
VideoLive coverage: SpaceX crew capsule splashes down in Gulf of Mexico
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken returned to Earth Sunday with an on-target splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 2:48 p.m. EDT (1848 GMT) Sunday. The astronauts completed a two-month stay on the International Space Station on a test flight of SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft.
VideoSoyuz rocket raised on Baikonur launch pad for space station resupply flight
A Russian Soyuz rocket rolled out to a launch pad Monday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, ready for final inspections, checkouts and fueling before liftoff Thursday with a Progress supply ship bound for the International Space Station.
VideoSLS booster segments arrive in Florida, but stacking on hold until core stage test
Fueled segments of the solid rocket boosters that will lift off on the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System have arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but officials will hold off on stacking the boosters until the SLS core stage completes a crucial test-firing later this year.
VideoLive coverage: Dragon delivers two new crew members to space station
A day after launching from the Kennedy Space Center, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken docked with the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft at 10:16 a.m. EDT (1416 GMT) Sunday to complete a 19-hour transit on the new commercial crew capsule.
VideoVideo: Dragon astronauts practice for launch day
Following the same timeline as they will on launch day, NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken put on their SpaceX flight suits and strapped inside SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
VideoLive coverage: All systems go for launch after final Crew Dragon readiness review
SpaceX conducted a final Launch Readiness Review on Monday ahead of the scheduled liftoff Wednesday of NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on a test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station. Launch remains set for 4:33:33 p.m. EDT (2033:33 GMT) Wednesday, weather permitting.
VideoLive coverage: HTV cargo freighter arrives at space station
Five days after launching from Japan, an HTV supply ship arrived Monday at the International Space Station. Capture of the HTV with the station's robotic arm occurred at 8:13 a.m. EDT (1213 GMT). It's the last cargo mission to the space station before the arrival of two NASA astronauts on the first crewed U.S. flight to the orbiting research facility since 2011.