International Space Station – Page 9

Busy month of crew rotations on tap at International Space Station

April 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

Seven astronauts and cosmonauts are gearing up for launches April 9 and April 22 to the International Space Station, replacing seven outgoing crew members set to land in Kazakhstan and off the coast of Florida on April 17 and April 28.

Soyuz crew relocates spacecraft to new space station parking spot

March 19, 2021 Stephen Clark

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

March 13, 2021 William Harwood

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

March 12, 2021 Stephen Clark

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

March 9, 2021 William Harwood

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.

Rubins and Noguchi assemble solar array support fixtures outside space station

March 5, 2021 William Harwood

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.

Boeing’s next Starliner test flight delayed after SpaceX crew rotation

March 2, 2021 Stephen Clark

An unpiloted test flight of Boeing’s Starliner crew capsule to the International Space Station will be delayed from its previous target launch date of April 2 until at least May, after the arrivals of Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon ships bringing fresh crew members to the orbiting complex, NASA officials said Monday.

Component fatigue caused early shutdown of Merlin engine on last SpaceX launch

March 1, 2021 Stephen Clark

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

February 28, 2021 William Harwood

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

February 25, 2021 Stephen Clark

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.