Current happenings in orbit
CRS-17 Dragon arrives at ISS with cargo, stray cable
May 06, 2019 / Derek Richardson
SpaceX's CRS-17 Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station with fresh supplies and an unexpected cable that was supposed to fall away during launch.
The CRS-17 Dragon spacecraft contains about 2,500 kilograms of crew supplies, equipment and experiments for the six-person Expedition 59 crew.
May 06, 2019 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Visiting Vehicle
CRS-17, Dragon, SpaceX, Expedition 59
Progress MS-11 launches toward ISS on 2-orbit trek
April 05, 2019 / Derek Richardson
Russia launched a Soyuz rocket with the latest Progress resupply freighter bound for the International Space Station, docking nearly 3.5 hours later.
Progress MS-11 launched atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Liftoff took place at 11:01 UTC April 4, 2019, setting the stage for the spacecraft to rendezvous with the outpost just over three hours later.
April 05, 2019 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Progress MS-11, Progress, Roscosmos, Soyuz 2.1a, Expedition 59
Historic Crew Dragon flight concludes with Atlantic splashdown
March 08, 2019 / Derek Richardson
The historic Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission has come to a conclusion with a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean not far from where its mission began six days ago.
Following a five-day mission attached to the International Space Station, the unpiloted Crew Dragon autonomously undocked at 07:32 UTC March 8, 2019, and began moving to a safe distance. The spacecraft left the vicinity of the outpost about 20 minutes later.
March 08, 2019 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Crew Dragon, SpaceX, Demo-1, NASA, Expedition 58, Atlantic Ocean
NG-10 Cygnus ends post-ISS mission after deploying satellites
February 25, 2019 / Derek Richardson
Having launched Nov. 17, 2018, and spent 81 days attached to the International Space Station, the NG-10 Cygnus, named SS John Glenn by Northrop Grumman, was unberthed Feb. 8 to perform a two-week stand-alone mission. That post-ISS flight came to an end at about 09:00 UTC Feb. 25, 2019, when the spacecraft's engine performed a deorbit burn to lower its orbit enough for Earth's atmosphere to drag it down, safely burning it up of the Pacific Ocean.
February 25, 2019 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
NG-10, Cygnus, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Expedition 58
NG-10 Cygnus departs ISS to perform secondary mission
Northrop Grumman's NG-10 Cygnus spacecraft has departed the International Space Station after three months at the orbiting complex.
Loaded inside the disposable cargo freighter is 2,500 kilograms of trash and unneeded equipment. Cygnus is now set to perform a two-week free-flight mission to deploy three CubeSats, according to NASA.
NG-10, Cygnus, NASA, Northrop Grumman, Expedition 58, NanoRacks
Progress MS-09 leaves ISS
January 25, 2019 / Derek Richardson
Progress MS-09 departed from the International Space Station after spending spending more than six months at the outpost. The cargo freighter autonomously undocked from the Pirs docking compartment at 12:55 UTC Jan. 25, 2019.
January 25, 2019 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Progress MS-09, Roscosmos, Expedition 58
SpaceX completes 16th Dragon mission to ISS
After spending just over a month attached to the International Space Station, SpaceX's CRS-16 Dragon spacecraft departed the outpost and returned to Earth.
Loaded with more than 1,800 kilograms of equipment and experiments for a return to Earth, Dragon was unberthed from the Harmony module at around 20:00 UTC Jan. 13, 2019.
CRS-16, Dragon, SpaceX, NASA, Expedition 58
Astronauts release Kounotori 7 from space station
November 07, 2018 / Derek Richardson
Following a six-week stay at the International Space Station, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Kounotori 7 cargo ship was unberthed and commanded to depart the vicinity of the orbiting outpost.
European Space Agency astronaut and Expedition 57 Commander Alexander Gerst commanded the 17.6-meter Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the cargo craft at 16:51 UTC Nov. 7. His back-up support was NASA astronaut Serena Aunon-Chancellor.
November 07, 2018 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Kounotori 7, Expedition 57, JAXA
Japanese Kounotori 7 brings food, science and new hardware to ISS
September 27, 2018 / Derek Richardson
Japan's Kounotori 7 spacecraft arrived to the International Space Station to begin a two-month period attached to the outpost while crews work to unload its 6,200 kilograms of cargo. The 9.8-meter-long spacecraft, also known as HTV-7, rendezvoused with the outpost Sept. 27, 2018.
September 27, 2018 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Berthing/Docking, Visiting Vehicle
Kounotori, Kounotori 7, HTV, Expedition 56, Expedition 57, JAXA, NASA
Progress MS-08 departs ISS
August 24, 2018 / Derek Richardson
Progress MS-08 undocked from the International Space Station after just over six months attached to the orbiting outpost's Zvezda service module. Rather than an immediate deorbit, however, the cargo freighter will continue orbiting Earth for a week.
Undocking occurred at 02:16 UTC Aug. 23, 2018. Once the unpiloted Progress MS-08 was safely away from the station, the second phase of its mission began.
August 24, 2018 / Derek Richardson/ Comment
Progress, Progress MS-08, Expedition 56, Roscosmos