Blogs

The uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft is safely in orbit headed for the International Space Station following launch at 7:24 p.m. EST Thursday, Feb. 23, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After a two-day journey, the unpiloted spacecraft will dock automatically to the Poisk module’s space-facing port at 8:01 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25. NASA coverage of rendezvous …

NASA TV coverage is underway for the launch of an uncrewed Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. Soyuz will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 7:24 p.m. EST (5:24 a.m. Feb. 24, Baikonur time). Launch and docking activities will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website. After …

After launching in December 2022, the international Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission started commissioning activities – the six-month checkout period before the scientific mission begins. Commissioning has included turning on all the science instruments, among them the main science instrument, the Ka-band Radar Interferometer (KaRIn), which engineers fully powered on in mid-January 2023. …

In the early-morning hours on Friday, Feb. 24, NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, along with UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, will participate in a countdown dress rehearsal at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for the upcoming Crew-6 launch, targeted for 1:45 a.m. …

Payloads: Astrobee Maneuvering by Robotic Manipulator Hopping (Astrobatics): Astrobatics skins were installed onto the Astrobee free-fliers and science session #4 was performed. Astrobatics demonstrates the Astrobee robotic vehicles using robotic manipulators to execute a hopping or self-toss maneuver as the primary means of propulsion, making it mostly propellant-less. Astrobee performs increasingly complex maneuvers between handrails …

Two rockets on opposites side of the world stand ready to launch to the International Space Station as four Expedition 68 crew members prepare to return to Earth. Meanwhile, some of the orbital residents are relaxing today as others continue their critical microgravity research operations ahead of the upcoming spacecraft arrivals. The Soyuz MS-23 crew …

In an official report released Thursday, Feb. 23, weather officials with Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron predict a 95% chance of favorable weather conditions for NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the cumulus cloud rule serving as the primary weather concern. Liftoff is targeted for 1:45 a.m. …

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft Endeavour atop, was raised to the vertical position Thursday, Feb. 23, at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida in preparation for the Crew-6 mission to the International Space Station. Earlier today, the mated spacecraft and rocket arrived at the launch complex after …

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, with the company’s Dragon spacecraft Endeavour atop, arrived at NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A this morning, Feb. 23, after rolling out from the SpaceX integration hangar adjacent to the launch pad. The spacecraft and rocket will be raised to the vertical position for an integrated static fire test …

Payloads: Electrostatic Levitation Furnace (ELF): The crew continued the work to install the High-Speed Camera system into ELF. This camera will be used to support the next set of ELF experiments. ELF is an experimental facility designed to levitate/melt/solidify materials by containerless processing techniques using the Electrostatic Levitation method. With this facility, thermophysical properties of …