NASA – Page 7 – Spaceflight Now

As it happened: NASA, SpaceX undocked Crew-8 from the International Space Station following weeks of weather-related delays, scheduling conflicts

October 23, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The Crew Dragon Endeavour was originally set to undock from the International Space Station back in September, but was stalled by a pair of hurricanes and other weather events. Undocking happened 5:05 p.m. EDT (2105 UTC) on Oct. 23, setting up splashdown at 3:23 a.m. EDT (0725 UTC) on Friday.

SpaceX launches $5.2 billion NASA mission to Jupiter’s ocean moon, Europa

October 14, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The mission featured the launch of NASA’s largest spacecraft bound on a planetary mission. Liftoff from Launch Complex 39A happened 12:06 p.m. EDT (1606 UTC).

Live coverage: SpaceX to attempt first booster catch during the Starship Flight 5 mission

October 13, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The launch continues SpaceX’s advancement of the rocket, which is key not only to its ambitions, but also to NASA’s Artemis program. Liftoff from Starbase is set for 7 a.m. CDT (1200 UTC), the start of a 30-minute launch window.

ESA’s Hera mission progresses towards launch pending Falcon 9 readiness

October 2, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The journey to the binary asteroid system, Didymos and its moon, Dimorphos, will take place over a roughly two-year period. The launch window lasts from October 7-27.

SpaceX launches two to space station, giving Starliner astronauts a ride home in February

September 27, 2024 William Harwood

SpaceX launched a reduced two-man crew on a flight to the International Space Station Saturday, along with supplies and a pair of empty seats for two Starliner astronauts waiting to hitch a ride home in February after an unexpected eight-and-a-half-month stay in orbit.

NASA, SpaceX conduct prelaunch activities as Tropical Storm delays Crew-9 mission

September 24, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexandr Gorbunov walked through a launch day simulation as NASA and SpaceX prepared to conduct a static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket. Ignition happened at 10:05 p.m. EDT (0205 UTC).

Two-member SpaceX Crew-9 prepares for late week Dragon launch

September 23, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexandr Gorbunov arrived in Florida on Saturday afternoon ahead of their final launch preparations. A flight readiness review occurred on Monday, Sept. 23.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit makes fourth trip to the International Space Station

September 11, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

Pettit will fly to the orbiting outpost alongside Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner on the Soyuz MS-26 mission. Liftoff from the Baikonur Cosmodrome is set for 12:23 p.m. EDT (1623 UTC).

Starliner lands safely in New Mexico

September 7, 2024 William Harwood

Despite NASA’s concerns about earlier thruster problems and multiple helium leaks in the ship’s propulsion pressurization system, the Starliner had no trouble undocking and moving away from the station at 6:04 p.m. EDT and executing a critical 59-second deorbit braking maneuver at 11:17 p.m. to drop out of orbit.

As it happened: Boeing’s Starliner returned to Earth, marking the end of the Crew Flight Test mission

September 6, 2024 Will Robinson-Smith

The spacecraft will journey back to Earth without the two astronauts it launched with back on June 5. Undocking is set for 6:04 p.m. EDT (2204 UTC) with landing just after midnight on Saturday.