space station

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SpaceX Put on an Overnight Show
SpaceX Was at
Work Overnight
Sep 4, 2023 5:49 AM CDT

SpaceX Was at Work Overnight

4 astronauts splash down off Florida in 'spectacular' middle-of-night capsule landing

(Newser) - Four astronauts returned to Earth early Monday after a six-month stay at the International Space Station, reports the AP , with their SpaceX capsule parachuting into the Atlantic off the Florida coast. Returning were NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, Russia's Andrei Fedyaev, and the United Arab...

Chinese Crew Returns From Space Station

Astronauts spent 6 months working on Tiangong

(Newser) - Three Chinese astronauts landed in a northern desert on Sunday after six months working to complete construction of the Tiangong station, a symbol of their country's ambitious space program, state TV reported. A capsule carrying commander Chen Dong and astronauts Liu Yang and Cai Xuzhe touched down at a...

Russia Taking Its Toys and Leaving the Space Station

Country's new space chief Yuri Borisov says 'the decision ... has been made'

(Newser) - Russia will opt out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost , the country's newly appointed space chief said Tuesday. Yuri Borisov, who was appointed earlier this month to lead the state-controlled space corporation Roscosmos, said during a meeting with Russian President...

China Angry With Elon Musk Over Space Near-Misses

Says its space station twice had to avert collisions with Starlink satellites

(Newser) - Twice over the past year, China says, its space station has almost been hit by satellites launched by Elon Musk's SpaceX. The country is now calling on the United Nations to get the US to abide by the treaty that regulates outer space, the Guardian reports. In both July...

Russian Module's Arrival Triggers Emergency at ISS

Surprise rocket firing moved space station out of position for nearly an hour

(Newser) - Routine is definitely not a word with which to describe Russia's Thursday docking of a module at the International Space Station, its first in more than a decade. The long-delayed Nauka laboratory module, the largest space lab ever launched by Russia, reached ISS after several "hiccups in orbit"...

China Launches 3 Astronauts to New Space Station

They'll stay 3 months in the Tianhe, or Heavenly Harmony

(Newser) - Under bright blue morning skies, China launched its first crewed space mission in five years Thursday, sending three science-minded military pilots rocketing to a new orbiting station they're expected to reach around mid-afternoon. The astronauts, already wearing their spacesuits, were seen off by space officials, other uniformed military personnel,...

China's Rocket Debris Set for Uncontrolled Re-Entry

21-ton Long March rocket core will crash at an unknown location within days

(Newser) - Last week's launch of the Tianhe space station module was a great leap forward for China's space program—but the Long March 5B rocket used for the launch could cause some major problems back on Earth. The 21-ton core of the rocket is now orbiting Earth and slowly...

Barred From the ISS, China Launches Own Space Station

Beijing aims to complete Tiangong in 2022

(Newser) - With potential retirement looming for the International Space Station, Russia says it plans to launch its own space station by 2030, but China is edging ahead in the space race: The country launched the main part of its new space station on Thursday. The Tianhe—"Heavenly Harmony"—module...

ISS Now Has Highest Population in a Decade

SpaceX arrival brings number of astronauts to 11

(Newser) - The International Space Station's population swelled to 11 on Saturday with the jubilant arrival of SpaceX's third crew capsule in less than a year. It's the biggest crowd up there in more than a decade. All of the astronauts—representing the US, Russia, Japan, and France—managed...

Russia Plans to Build Its Own Space Station

If all goes well, nation would ditch ISS by 2025, have its own version by 2030

(Newser) - Relations on Earth between Russia and the West are strained at the moment, with the country mired in controversy over the health status of dissident Alexei Navalny and the buildup of Russian forces at the Ukraine border. Now, there could soon be a distancing in outer space, too: The head...

After Getting 'Stuck in Traffic,' ISS Now Has a New 'Bot

Russian humanoid robot Fedor is 'ready to work now' after a week's delay

(Newser) - A Russian space capsule carrying a humanoid robot has successfully docked at the International Space Station after a failed attempt last week. Russian space agency Roscosmos said on Tuesday that the capsule carrying the robot and other cargo docked at the orbiting lab early morning Moscow time. The robot, called...

Major Power Shortage Hits Space Station

Glitch has delayed SpaceX supply run

(Newser) - A major power shortage at the International Space Station has delayed this week's SpaceX supply run. SpaceX was supposed to launch a shipment Wednesday, the AP reports. But an old power-switching unit malfunctioned at the space station Monday and knocked two power channels offline. The six remaining power channels...

Chinese Space Station Crashes Back to Earth

Tiangong-1 burned up over the South Pacific

(Newser) - China's plummeting space station crashed to Earth late Sunday without harming any Earthlings: The country's space agency says the Tiangong-1 burned up on re-entry and the remaining debris fell into the southern Pacific Ocean northwest of Tahiti. The US military's Joint Force Space Component Command confirmed the...

Defunct Space Station Due to Fall to Earth This Weekend

Tiangong-1 is believed to be out of control

(Newser) - China's defunct and reportedly out-of-control Tiangong 1 space station is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere sometime this weekend. It poses only a slight risk to people and property on the ground, since most of the bus-size, 8.5-ton vehicle is expected to burn up on re-entry, although space...

New Prediction for When, Where Space Station Will Crash

Experts say there isn't anything to worry about ... probably

(Newser) - A 9.6-ton Chinese space station will likely crash somewhere on Earth around March, according to a new prediction made Wednesday by Aerospace. And while that sounds terrifying, a member of the team behind the prediction tells the New York Times the Tiangong-1 "most probably will not harm anyone,...

Russia and US Are Building a Moon Base

The Deep Space Gateway will orbit the moon

(Newser) - Two words: Moon base. AFP reports the US and Russia will work together on a NASA program to build the Deep Space Gateway, a space station in orbit around the moon. NASA and Russia's Roscosmos signed an agreement to cooperate on the station—which will be "an invaluable...

8 Cool Facts on Big Day for International Space Station

It's the 15th anniversary of continuous residency at the ISS

(Newser) - Monday marks the 15th anniversary of continuous residency at the International Space Station, the AP reports. The station was launched in 1998, the BBC reports, and first permanent crew moved in on Nov. 2, 2000. It's planned to be decommissioned in 2020. Eight fun ISS facts to celebrate the...

Soyuz Blasts Off for Space Station

New crew launched today from Kazakhstan

(Newser) - An American and two Russians blasted off for the International Space Station from Kazakhstan today in a Soyuz rocket. NASA astronaut Kevin Ford and Russians Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin will travel for two days before meeting up with US astronaut Sunita Williams, Russia's Yuri Malenchenko, and Japan's...

Astronauts Make Space Station Fix With ... Toothbrush

Astronauts, NASA have to make improvised tool

(Newser) - Astronauts pulled a MacGyver in space today when they fixed the $100 billion space station with the help of a $3 toothbrush. An electrical power unit affixed to the station needed replacing, but a stubborn bolt was malfunctioning. NASA engineers and astronauts Sunita Williams and Akihido Hoshide ultimately solved the...

SpaceX Capsule Docks at Space Station

Dragon capsule successfully captured by space station astronauts

(Newser) - The privately bankrolled Dragon capsule made a historic arrival at the International Space Station today, triumphantly captured by astronauts wielding a giant robot arm. SpaceX is the first private company to accomplish such a feat: a commercial cargo delivery into the cosmos. "This really is, I think, going to...

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