Tag: international space station

  • International Docking Adapter successfully installed

    The International Docking Adapter (IDA) that was transported to the International Space Station (ISS) in the trunk of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft was successfully installed to the end of the Pressurized Mating Adapter 2 (PMA-2) during a spacewalk today. Astronauts Jeff Williams and Kate Rubins performed a 5 hour 58 minute spacewalk to complete the…

  • Soyuz TMA-14M hatches opened

    The three crew members Aleksandr Samokutyayev, Yelena Serova and Barry E. Wilmore aboard the Soyuz TMA-14M have now entered their home for the next six months. Following a smooth docking, leak checks were performed and the hatches opened allowing the crew to enter the station. Just before the hatches opened NASA confirmed that after the docking…

  • TMA-14M launches successfully

    A Soyuz TMA-14M carrying cosmonaut Aleksandr Samokutyayev, the first female cosmonaut Yelena Serova and astronaut Barry E. Wilmore lifted off from Baikonur Cosmodrome at 4:25pm EDT to begin a four orbit, six hour journey to the International Space Station to complete the Expedition 41 crew complement. Following a smooth ride to orbit the spacecraft transitioned…

  • Last ATV begins journey to the station

    This evening the second of three planned launches this week lifted off carrying the final European Automated Transfer Vehicle to orbit. The Ariane 5 rocket lifted off at 7:47:38 p.m. EDT from French Guiana carrying the ATV spacecraft, 64 minutes after liftoff the vehicle is scheduled to separate from the upper stage to begin it’s two…

  • Weekly Space Blog 6/20

    Hubble to search for New Horizons next target When New Horizons was first launched towards Pluto the plan was for it to complete it’s mission and then fly on to another object in the Kuiper belt and perform the same observations as it does at Pluto.  The second destination has not yet been choose and researchers…

  • Weekly Space Blog 6/13

    Orbital ISS Launched Delayed again The ORB-2 Cygnus cargo mission to the International Space Station (ISS) has been delayed again due to the on-going investigation into an AJ26 engine failure last month during testing.  The Antares rocket which launches the Cygnus spacecraft uses two of the AJ26 engines on the first stage to orbit. The…

  • Weekly Space Blog 6/6

    Kepler back online The Kepler spacecraft that was sidelined last year after two of it’s gyroscopes failed has been re-purposed to the K2 mission. The original mission of Kepler was to continuously observe the same patch of the sky looking for slight dips in the brightness of the star.  This indicated that a planet or…

  • Weekly Space Blog 5/23

    SpaceX Dragon completes successful mission Last Sunday at 3:05pm the SpaceX Dragon capsule successfully completed it’s CRS-3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with a splashdown in the Pacific ocean. Launched on April 18th aboard a Falcon 9 rocket the Dragon spacecraft, carrying nearly 5,000 lbs of supplies and payloads including two in the…

  • Weekly Space Blog 5/16

    Soyuz TMA-11M crew lands safely The three crew members of TMA-11M landed safely after spending 188 days in space, See full article here Russia fires back over US Sanctions This week Russia fire back against US sanctions in two key areas, the first was to spurn NASA’s proposal to extend the life of the ISS through 2024.…

  • Weekly Space Blog 11/16

    Beyond Earth: Removing the Barriers to Deep Space Exploration round table This week NASA’s Bill Gerstenmaier moderated a panel discussion to consider the challenges facing the U.S. space exploration program. Panelists include: • Julie Van Kleeck, Vice President, Space Programs, Aerojet Rocketdyne • Charlie Precourt, Vice President & General Manager, ATK Space Launch Division •…