Human Spaceflight – Spaceflight Now

Technical snags force another delay for Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule

June 1, 2023 Stephen Clark

Boeing and NASA officials said Thursday the first launch of astronauts on Boeing’s delay-prone Starliner crew capsule won’t happen in July after engineers recently discovered a problem with the spacecraft’s parachute system and identified flammable tape around wiring harnesses inside the vehicle.

Private astronauts splash down to close out 9-day commercial research mission

May 31, 2023 William Harwood

America’s most experienced space flier and her three private astronaut crewmates undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth late Tuesday, blazing through the night sky like a fiery shooting star before splashing down in the Gulf of Mexico.

Live coverage: U.S.-Saudi commercial astronaut crew returns to Earth

May 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

Wrapping up a nine-day mission, four commercial astronauts on Axiom Space’s second flight to the International Space Station departed the orbiting research complex at 11:05 a.m. EDT (1505 UTC) Tuesday. The crew rode back to Earth inside a SpaceX Dragon crew capsule for splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico at 11:04 p.m. EDT (0304 UTC).

Chinese astronaut launch breaks record for most people in orbit

May 30, 2023 Stephen Clark

The launch of the next crew to China’s Tiangong space station late Monday (U.S. time) added three astronauts to the population of humans in space, which reached a record number of 17 people in orbit — six Chinese citizens, five Americans, three Russians, two Saudis, and one Emirati astronaut.

Live coverage: China launches three-man crew to Tiangong space station

May 29, 2023 Stephen Clark

Three Chinese astronaut rocketed into orbit in pursuit of the Tiangong space station at 9:31 p.m. EDT Monday (0131 UTC Tuesday). The crew blasted off from the Jiuquan launch base in northwestern China on a Long March 2F rocket.

Three astronauts ready for ride to China’s space station

May 29, 2023 Stephen Clark

The next three-man crew to live on China’s Tiangong space station will launch Monday night on a Long March rocket, heading for a half-year expedition on the orbiting outpost to replace an outgoing team of astronauts set to return to Earth this weekend.

Virgin Galactic resumes suborbital spaceflights

May 25, 2023 William Harwood

Virgin Galactic launched its suborbital spaceplane “Unity” on its first crewed flight in two years Thursday, carrying two pilots and four company astronauts to the edge of space in a final test flight before paying customers begin suborbital jaunts in June.

Whitson says commercial station visit critical to private-sector space ops

May 25, 2023 William Harwood

America’s most experienced astronaut says her fully commercial visit to the International Space Station this week is a critical stepping stone on the road to space tourism, private-sector orbital research and development of commercially operated space stations.

Axiom’s second private astronaut mission docks at International Space Station

May 22, 2023 Stephen Clark

Four commercial space fliers who launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Axiom’s second private astronaut mission Sunday arrived at the International Space Station on a SpaceX crew capsule Monday to start an eight-day stay full of scientific experiments, student outreach events, and sightseeing.

Two Americans, two Saudis launch on commercial astronaut mission

May 21, 2023 Stephen Clark

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, with more time in space than any other American, rocketed back into orbit for the fourth time Sunday, riding a SpaceX Falcon 9 launcher from Florida with a fare-paying investor and private pilot, and the first two Saudi Arabian astronauts to fly to the International Space Station.