Astronauts

The Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft loaded on the "MV Shannon" ship at the end of its Fram2 mission (Image courtesy SpaceX)

A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft completed its Fram2 mission with a safe splashdown. Chun Wang, Rabea Rogge, Jannicke Mikkelsen, and Eric Philip were on board and completed this completely private space mission in the Pacific Ocean after spending just over three and a half days in orbit. Shortly after splashdown, SpaceX’s “MV Shannon” ship picked up the Resilience and its crew and transported them to the coast.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft lifts off atop a Falcon 9 rocket on the Fram2 mission (Photo courtesy SpaceX)

A few hours ago, the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on the Fram2 mission. After about twelve minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage. It will spend between 3 and 5 days in orbit. Unlike the previous private space missions conducted by SpaceX in recent years, in the Fram2, the Crew Dragon entered a polar orbit, the first time for a crewed space flight, at an altitude that will range between 425 and 450 kilometers.

The Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft right after splashdown (Image courtesy SpaceX)

A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft concluded its Crew-9, or SpaceX Crew-9, mission for NASA by landing without problems. On board were astronauts Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, who reached the International Space Station on September 29, 2024, and were part of Expedition 72, along with astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who reached the International Space Station on Boeing’s Starliner Calypso spacecraft on June 6, 2024, and were part of Expedition 71/72. The original members of the Crew-9 mission completed SpaceX’s 9th regular crewed mission of in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon departed the Station almost 17 hours earlier.

The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docking with the Harmony module as seen from inside the International Space Station

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-10 or SpaceX Crew-10 mission that began with its launch about 28.5 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure gets properly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, Takuya Onishi, and Kirill Peskov to enter the Station and start their mission, which will last about five months.

The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket to start the Crew-10 mission (Image NASA)

A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-10 or SpaceX Crew-10 mission. After almost exactly ten minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the 10th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew.