Samantha Cristoforetti – Spaceflight Now

Photos: Space crew welcomed home after 199-day mission

June 12, 2015 Stephen Clark

Three space station residents crammed inside a capsule smaller than a compact car landed on the austere plans of Kazakhstan on Thursday, returning to Earth for their first taste of gravity and whiff of nature in nearly seven months.

U.S.-Russian-Italian crew returns to Earth

June 11, 2015 William Harwood

A Russian cosmonaut, a NASA astronaut and an Italian wrapping up her first space flight boarded a Russian Soyuz ferry craft early Thursday, undocked from the International Space Station and plunged back to Earth, landing safely on the steppe of Kazakhstan to close out an extended 200-day mission.

Live coverage: Station crew safely lands in Kazakhstan

June 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

A U.S.-Russian-Italian space crew closed out a 199-day expedition on the International Space Station with a parachute-assisted landing Thursday on the steppe of Kazakhstan. Touchdown of the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft occurred at 1343 GMT (9:43 a.m. EDT).

Three station fliers set for return to Earth

June 10, 2015 William Harwood

Three space station crew members packed up for a fiery return to Earth Thursday, wrapping up a nearly 200-day mission that was extended one month at the last minute because of a Russian rocket failure in April that threw a wrench into the lab’s crew rotation schedule.

Russia delays ISS crew rotation flights

May 12, 2015 William Harwood

Russia is delaying the return to Earth of three space station crew members by about a month in the wake of the failure of a Russian Progress supply ship that spun out of control moments after reaching orbit April 28. Launch of three fresh crew members also will be delayed, from May 26 to late July.

A taste of Italian culture makes it to the final frontier

May 4, 2015 Stephen Clark

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti got a taste of home Sunday when she tried out a new espresso maker that is part creature comfort and part science experiment.

SpaceX supply ship joins up with space station

April 17, 2015 Stephen Clark

Packed with an array of experiments and provisions, including a custom-made Italian espresso maker, SpaceX’s unmanned Dragon cargo capsule reached the International Space Station on Friday after a precise laser-guided rendezvous more than 250 miles above Earth.

Photos: Lightning shines in the eye of a cyclone

January 18, 2015 Stephen Clark

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.

Astronauts return to US side of space station after leak scare

January 14, 2015 William Harwood

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.

Three-person crew docks with space station

November 23, 2014 William Harwood

Five hours and 48 minutes after a sky-lighting launch from Kazakhstan, a Russian Soyuz ferry craft carrying a crew of three representing Russia, the United States and Italy glided to a smooth docking at the International Space Station.