NASA and its mission partners are gearing up for a busy 2023 with crew launches and returns from the International Space Station. NASA worked closely with its international partners and commercial crew providers, Boeing and SpaceX, to secure new target launch dates for the upcoming flights that are optimal for space station needs. NASA’s [...]

NASA astronauts Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Jessica Watkins, as well as ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti splashed down safely in the SpaceX Dragon Freedom in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, at 4:55 p.m. EDT after 170 days in space.

International Space Station Configuration. Five spaceships are docked at the space station including the SpaceX Crew Dragons Freedom and Endurance; and Russia’s Soyuz MS-22 crew ship and the Progress 80 and 81 resupply ships. Credits: NASANASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 11:35 a.m. EDT Friday, Oct. 14, for the agency’s Crew-4 [...]

Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti handed over station command to cosmonaut Sergey Prokopyev as the Expedition 68 crew observed on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.NASA and SpaceX are standing down from the Oct. 13 departure opportunity for the agency’s Crew-4 mission from the International Space Station due to increased winds forecast in the splashdown area. Mission teams [...]

The SpaceX Crew-4 astronauts are seated inside the Dragon Freedom crew ship. The commercial crew quartet (from left) are Mission Specialist Jessica Watkins, Pilot Robert Hines, Commander Kjell Lindgren, and Mission Specialist Samantha Cristorforetti. Photo credit: SpaceXNASA and SpaceX now are targeting no earlier than 10:05 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 13, for the agency’s [...]

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft, named Endurance, lift off from Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 5, 2022, for the Crew-5 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettBy Jim CawleyNASA’s Kennedy Space Center It was a picture-perfect launch during a sun-splashed afternoon on Florida’s [...]

The SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft carrying NASA astronauts Nicole Aunapu Mann, commander; Josh Cassada, pilot; and mission specialists JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Koichi Wakata, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Anna Kikina has safely reached orbit, and the nosecone has been opened. At 1:30 p.m., NASA will host a postlaunch news conference from NASA’s Kennedy Space [...]

The Dragon Endurance spacecraft has separated from the second stage. The spacecraft is traveling at approximately 17,500 miles per hour.

Stage 1 of the Falcon 9 rocket lands on the company’s drone ship on Oct. 5, 2022. Credit: NASAStage 1 of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket completed its descent and successfully landed on the company’s drone ship, Just Read the Instructions, off the coast of Florida.

Shutdown of the second stage engine occurred right on time. All is proceeding as planned.