Chris Cassidy – Spaceflight Now

Soyuz brings three space station fliers back to Earth

October 22, 2020 William Harwood

One week after two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut arrived at the International Space Station, the three crew members they’re replacing strapped into their own Soyuz spacecraft, undocked and returned to Earth Wednesday with a landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out a 196-day mission.

Live coverage: Soyuz crew returns to Earth

October 21, 2020 Stephen Clark

A three-man crew closed out a 196-day expedition in orbit late Wednesday with a parachute-assisted landing on the steppe of Kazakhstan aboard the Russian Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy, Soyuz commander Anatoly Ivanishin, and flight engineer Ivan Vagner undocked from the International Space Station at 7:32 p.m. EDT (2332 GMT) Wednesday, and the trio landed at 10:54 p.m. EDT (0254 GMT).

Space station crew preps for re-entry, landing

October 21, 2020 William Harwood

One week after two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut arrived at the International Space Station for a six-month stay, the three crew members they’re replacing packed up their Soyuz spacecraft for a fiery plunge back to Earth Wednesday evening to close out a 196-day mission.

Search continues for small air leak on space station

October 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

Crew members on the International Space Station over the weekend continued trying to pinpoint the location of a small air leak in the research outpost’s Russian Zvezda service module, one of the oldest sections of the orbiting laboratory.

Cygnus supply ship reaches space station with titanium toilet

October 5, 2020 Stephen Clark

A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship arrived at the International Space Station on Monday, delivering nearly four tons of supplies and experiments to the research lab and its crew, including a $23 million titanium toilet and a high-definition virtual reality camera planned for use on a future spacewalk.

Hurricane Laura observed from International Space Station

August 26, 2020 Stephen Clark

NASA commander Chris Cassidy shared views of Hurricane Laura captured Thursday as the International Space Station soared more than 250 miles over the dangerous storm while it churned across the Gulf of Mexico toward Louisiana.

Engineers troubleshooting small space station air leak

August 20, 2020 William Harwood

Engineers are troubleshooting a small air leak aboard the International Space Station that was discovered last September, NASA reported Thursday. While it poses no safety threat, the lab’s three-man crew plans to seal themselves in the Russian segment of the station this weekend to help engineers pin down the leak’s location.

Last in current line of Japan’s HTV cargo ships departs space station

August 18, 2020 Stephen Clark

The last of Japan’s first series of HTV supply ships departed the International Space Station on Tuesday with several tons of trash, old batteries, and unneeded equipment, heading for a destructive re-entry before the debut of an upgraded cargo freighter design.

Spacewalkers prep space station for future upgrades

July 21, 2020 William Harwood

Space station commander Chris Cassidy and Robert Behnken floated back outside Tuesday for their fourth spacewalk in less than a month, completing preparations for future upgrades including the eventual installation of an airlock that will allow commercial experiments to be moved into and out of vacuum as required.

Spacewalkers accomplish another round of space station battery swap outs

July 16, 2020 William Harwood

Now in the home stretch of a complex, multi-year upgrade, two space station astronauts floated outside the lab complex Thursday and pressed ahead with the third of four spacewalks the current crew is carrying out to complete the replacement of aging batteries in the station’s solar power system.