A little while ago, the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 14 mission returned to Earth after spending almost six months on the Chinese space station Tiangong. The three taikonauts Cai Xuzhe, Chen Dong, and Liu Yang departed the station a few hours earlier to land at a site called Dongfeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. A procedure that significantly reduces the time to return to Earth worked perfectly again.
A confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts from the Shenzhou 15 mission reached the Chinese space station Tiangong with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about seven hours earlier on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They form the fourth crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, the standard duration for a mission.
A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft concluded its Crew-4, or SpaceX Crew-4, mission on behalf of NASA by splashing down without problems. On board were astronauts Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Samantha Cristoforetti, who had reached the International Space Station on April 27 and were part of Expedition 67 and 68. The four of them completed SpaceX’s fourth regular crewed mission in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida. The Crew Dragon departed the Station about six hours earlier.
A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station completing the first part of its Crew-5 or SpaceX Crew-5 mission that began with its launch about 29 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure was properly balanced, the hatch was opened to allow Koichi Wakata, Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, and Anna Kikina to enter the Station.
A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-5 or SpaceX Crew-5 mission. After almost exactly twelve minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the 5th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew. This is also the second mission for the Endurance.
