News Archive
Browse every article published on Spaceflight Now, from launch reports and mission previews to spacecraft development coverage. Use the filters to narrow by topic or search by keyword.
Matching Articles
1,650 articles
Soyuz crew relocates spacecraft to new space station parking spot
Two Russian cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut strapped into their Soyuz spacecraft Friday and moved the capsule to a different docking port on the International Space Station, clearing the way arrival of a fresh crew next month.
Spacewalkers vent coolant lines and mate cables outside space station
Struggling with balky electrical connectors, spacewalker Mike Hopkins managed to plug in and secure three of four thick power and data cables Saturday that are needed by a European experiment platform, leaving one cable for additional troubleshooting.
Garbage pallet jettisoned from space station will stay in orbit two-to-four years
NASA ground controllers sent commands to the International Space Station on Thursday for release of a 2.9-ton cargo pallet loaded with old batteries, the most massive object ever jettisoned from the orbiting outpost. The garbage carrier is expected to remain in orbit for two-to-four years before re-entering the atmosphere.
NASA astronaut joins Russian Soyuz crew for April flight to space station
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, veteran of a 168-day stay in space in 2017-18, will join two Russian cosmonauts aboard a Soyuz spacecraft April 9 for a flight back to the International Space Station in a deal brokered through Houston-based Axiom Space, NASA and the Russian space agency announced Tuesday.
Next Crew Dragon launch set for April 22
NASA and SpaceX have set April 22 as the target launch date for the next Crew Dragon flight to the International Space Station. The four-person crew will be the first to ride a previously-flown Falcon 9 booster and a reused Dragon spacecraft, and a NASA official said this week that the launcher and capsule are in "really good shape" as refurbishment wraps up at Cape Canaveral.
Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside space station
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi, a Japanese astronaut who last walked in space more than 15 years ago, ventured outside the International Space Station Friday and completed assembly of two solar array support fixtures, part of a $100 million power system upgrade.
VideoSpaceX nails Starship landing, but rocket explodes minutes later
The latest prototype of SpaceX's Starship launch vehicle -- Starship SN10 -- took off from the company's South Texas test site and flew to an altitude of more than 30,000 feet Wednesday, then descended to a controlled vertical landing after two previous test vehicles crashed at touchdown. Minutes later, the 16-story test rocket exploded in a fireball, but the test flight appeared to be a major step forward in the early stages of the Starship program.
Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch
SpaceX has concluded fatigue on an engine cover caused one of the nine Merlin 1D first stage engines on the company's most recent launch to shut down early during ascent, leading to the loss of the booster during an offshore landing attempt in the Atlantic Ocean, an official said Monday.
Astronauts complete spacewalk to prep for station power system upgrades
Two astronauts floated outside the International Space Station Sunday for the first in a series of spacewalks to upgrade the lab's aging solar power system, assembling a support fixture that eventually will hold a new solar blanket.
Photos: Antares rocket blasts off from Eastern Shore of Virginia
A Northrop Grumman Antares rocket powered off its launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, on Feb. 20 with a Cygnus supply ship heading for the International Space Station.