Astronauts Terry Virts and space station commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore ventured back outside Sunday for their third spacewalk in eight days to complete initial preparations for upcoming dockings by commercially developed Boeing and SpaceX crew ferry ships.
Russia plans to stay part of the International Space Station partnership until 2024, then undock its modules to create a standalone base in orbit, the Russian space agency announced Tuesday.
Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Terry Virts floated outside the International Space Station Saturday and installed wiring needed for two new docking mechanisms that will be attached later this year for use by Boeing and SpaceX crew capsules.
Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Terry Virts suited up and ventured outside the International Space Station on Sunday on their third spacewalk in eight days to install equipment to help future commercial crew capsules built by Boeing and SpaceX navigate to the complex.
A Russian Progress supply ship packed with 3.1 tons of cargo and propellant to refuel the International Space Station is set for liftoff Tuesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Electrifying photos taken from the International Space Station show flashes of lightning glowing like spotlights in the eye of Tropical Cyclone Bansi in the Indian Ocean.
NASA officials say the International Space Station’s logistics chain was designed to absorb a launch failure like the mishap that destroyed an Orbital Sciences Corp. cargo craft in October, but pressure is on SpaceX to deliver supplies on time this year.
Concern about a possible ammonia coolant leak Wednesday prompted astronauts on the International Space Station to evacuate the U.S. segment of the complex and shelter in the Russian portion of the outpost while flight controllers scrambled to untangle initially confusing telemetry.
Two NASA astronauts and an Italian flight engineer took shelter in the space station’s Russian segment Wednesday as mission control analyzed a possible leak of toxic ammonia coolant aboard the complex. Initial data indicated it was likely a false alarm.
The Dragon spaceship poised for launch Tuesday will carry more than 2.5 tons of equipment for the International Space Station’s six-person crew, making the first U.S. supply delivery to the orbiting research complex since the crash of an Antares cargo rocket in October.