โItโs great to be back:โ SpaceX delivers 4 astronauts home to Earth with splashdown by moonlight
Plunging through the Earthโs atmosphere and splashing down by moonlight SpaceXโs Dragon spacecraft successfully returned three American and one Japanese astronaut to Earth following six months in space.
Spacewalking astronauts tackle hoses, other station odd jobs
But so much ammonia spewed out of the first hose that Mission Control worried some of the frozen white flakes might have gotten on their suits. โThere's more than I thought.โEven though the stream of ammonia was directed away from the astronauts and the space station, Hopkins said some icy crystals may have contacted his helmet. As a result, Mission Control said it was going to โbe conservative" and require inspections. NASA did not want any ammonia getting inside the space station and contaminating the cabin atmosphere. โNo, no, itโs not your fault,โ Mission Control assured him.
Spacewalkers complete 4 years of power upgrades for station
(NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ A pair of spacewalking astronauts completed a four-year effort to modernize the International Space Station's power grid on Monday, installing one last battery. Over the weekend, flight controllers in Houston used the space stationโs big robot arm to replace the last pair of old-style batteries with a single better-quality one. Although the spacewalk got started late, Hopkins and Glover hustled through the battery work in under an hour. AdThe space station is now equipped with 24 lithium-ion batteries to store power collected by the solar panels. In all, 14 spacewalks were needed to complete the battery work.
NASA astronauts conduct first spacewalk of 2021
In this image taken from NASA video, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins works outside the International Space Stations European lab on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ A pair of astronauts went spacewalking Wednesday to install a high-speed data link outside the International Space Stationโs European lab. About four hours into their spacewalk the astronauts encountered an issue with some of the cables being installed to ESAโs science communication antenna. โThis is issue is not unusual due to cable stiffness in space,โ NASA said in a tweet. About five-and-a-half hours into the spacewalk the astronauts were ahead of schedule and began completing on other tasks before heading into the airlock.
Cable trouble dogs spacewalkers in European lab upgrades
In this image taken from NASA video, NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins works outside the International Space Stations European lab on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. Hopkins and Victor Glover went spacewalking Wednesday to install a high-speed data link outside the International Space Stations European lab and connect cables for an experiment platform awaiting activation for almost a year. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ Spacewalking astronauts encountered cable trouble Wednesday while attempting to make improvements to the International Space Stationโs European lab. Elsewhere on the lab, Glover could not hook up all the power and data cables on a science research platform that's been awaiting activation for almost a year. Hopkins and Glover will perform a second spacewalk on Monday to complete battery upgrades to the stationโs solar power grid.
SpaceX completes resupply mission
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ The SpaceX Cargo Dragon undocked from the space station Tuesday morning and completed the splashdown off Floridaโs west coast. A day after the weather postponed the undocking, Dragon got the green light to undock around 9:05 a.m. Tuesday. ๐ The upgraded @SpaceX cargo Dragon successfully undocked from the @Space_Station at 9:05am ET & is on its way back to Earth for splashdown on Jan. 13, west of Tampa off the coast of Florida. @ISS_Research will be delivered to researchers at @NASAKennedy: https://t.co/Dqltf5ME8X pic.twitter.com/esYxtUmBfH โ NASA (@NASA) January 12, 2021Back at the space station, the crew onboard is preparing for upcoming spacewalks planned for Jan. 19 and 25. Commander Mike Hopkins and pilot Victor Glover, who both flew aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon in November, will conduct both spacewalks.
SpaceX Crew-1 booster returns to Port Canaveral; Astronauts rave about ride to ISS
Four astronauts who recently arrived on the Space Station via the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft smiled ear-to-ear describing their journey into space Thursday, meanwhile the rocket booster used for the launch is set to return to Port Canaveral later in the day. NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, along with Japanese Space Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchi launched Sunday night on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in the Dragon spacecraft from Kennedy Space Center. After 27 hours in space the astronauts arrived to the space station where NASA astronaut Kate Rubins was waiting to greet them at docking. The American and Japanese astronaut crew answered some questions on Thursday about the new arrivals on ISS. The booster will be used again next year to launch another round of astronauts for NASA to the International Space Station.
SpaceX capsule with 4 astronauts reaches space station
MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. โ ***11:16 p.m. Nov. 16, 2020 Update***SpaceXโs newly launched capsule with four astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station. The Dragon capsule pulled up and docked late Monday night, following a 27-hour, completely automated flight from Florida. ***Original***After a good nightโs sleep for four astronauts -- three NASA and one JAXA --aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon in orbit, the crew will prepare to dock at the International Space Station late Monday. NASA and SpaceX have continued to stream live views from the space station and the Crew Dragon. The first return to human spaceflight from Kennedy Space Center happened in May with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley.
Liftoff! SpaceX launches 4 astronauts on 6-month journey in space
The Dragon spacecraft nicknamed Resilience will arrive at the International Space Station about 27 hours after launch, around 11 p.m. Monday. The Dragon spacecraft launch escape system is armed. 4:58 p.m. Space fans ready to watch Falcon 9 launchPeople in Titusville at Space View park came out to watch the SpaceX Falcon 9 launch with four astronauts from Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 15, 2020. SpaceX suit technicians known as SpaceX ninjas, wearing all black, helped the astronauts get into the Crew Dragon spacecraft and into their seats. โWe are fully booked tomorrow, too.โShe said without the Crew-1 launch and the earlier SpaceX launch in May, her B&B might not have survived.
SpaceX launches 2nd crew, regular station crew flights begin
It is due to reach the space station late Monday and remain there until spring. Even the two astronauts on the first SpaceX crew flight stayed behind at Johnson Space Center in Houston. โI didnโt start breathing until about a minute after it took off,โ Pence said during a stop at SpaceX Launch Control to congratulate the workers. The first-stage booster is expected to be recycled by SpaceX for the next crew launch. NASA turned to private companies to haul cargo and crew to the space station, after the shuttle fleet retired in 2011.
Astronauts arrive at launch site for 2nd SpaceX crew flight
For NASA, it marks the long-awaited start of regular crew rotations at the International Space Station, with private companies providing the lifts. It will be a speedy trip to the space station, a six-orbit express lasting under nine hours. โEvery time thereโs a Dragon launch, there will be two Dragons in space,โ said Reed, director of crew mission management. NASA turned to private companies for space station deliveries โ cargo, then crew โ following the shuttle fleet's retirement in 2011. They will join two Russians and one American who arrived at the space station last month from Kazakhstan.
Dragon riders: Meet the next astronauts to launch from Florida with SpaceX
The second-ever crewed launch of the private spacecraft will mark the first operation mission to the International Space Station for Dragon. NASA Astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken launched on the first Dragon test flight with astronauts to the space station in May and successfully splashed down in August, becoming the first Dragon riders and NASA astronauts to launch from American soil since 2011. Meet the international crew set to become the second round of Dragon riders below:Mike Hopkins, Dragon commanderIn October 2013, aboard International Space Station Expedition 37 Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins prepares the Fluids Integrated Rack for an experiment. โI think you, if you want to be a leader in space, we need to be able to launch our own astronauts into space,โ Hopkins said. Victor Glover, Dragon pilotNASA Astronaut Victor Glover during EVA training in 2014.
Potty training: NASA tests new $23M titanium space toilet
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ NASAโs first new space potty in decades โ a $23 million titanium toilet better suited for women โ is getting a not-so-dry run at the International Space Station before eventually flying to the moon. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. With SpaceX now launching astronauts to the space station and Boeing less than a year from sending up its first crew, more toilets are needed. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.
Potty training: NASA tests new $23M titanium space toilet
In this June 18, 2020 photo provided by NASA, astronaut Kate Rubins, center, and support personnel review the Universal Waste Management System, a low-gravity space toilet, in Houston. The new device is scheduled to be delivered to the International Space Station on Oct. 1, 2020. Barely 100 pounds (45 kilograms) and just 28 inches (71 centimeters) tall, the new toilet is roughly half as big as the two Russian-built ones at the space station. To better accommodate women, NASA tilted the seat on the new toilet and made it taller. The last time NASA ordered up a new toilet was in the early 1990s to accommodate two-week space shuttle missions.
Space station air leak forces middle-of-night crew wakeup
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. โ A small air leak at the International Space Station finally has been traced to the Russian side, following a middle-of-the-night search by astronauts. Space station deputy program manager Kenny Todd said the good news is that โinstead of a bunch of haystacks, we're down to maybe one haystack." But he added: โIt's still a needle we're looking for.โNASA is sending up extra air supply tanks on its next space station delivery, scheduled for a Thursday departure from Virginia. As long as the leak does not worsen, Todd said, the space station should be fine through next spring. In two weeks, two Russians and an American are scheduled to arrive at the space station, followed by crew of three Americans and a Japanese on SpaceX's second launch of astronauts, now targeted for Oct. 31.