Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, launched last Friday, October 2, has just reached the International Space Station and was captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Astronaut Chris Cassidy, assisted by cosmonaut Ivan Vagner, will soon begin the slow maneuver to move the Cygnus until it docks with the Station’s Unity module after about two hours.
A few hours ago the Progress MS-15 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its ultra-fast track in its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 76 or 76P. After almost 3.5 hours it reached the International Space Station docking with its Pirs module. There was a moment of uncertainty because the cargo freighter was berthing with a misalignment, but the problem was quickly resolved.
A little while ago SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module completing the first part of its SpX-DM2 (SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2), or SpaceX Demo-2, mission that began yesterday with its launch. After checking that the pressure is correctly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken to enter the Station.
A little while ago the HTV-9 “Kounotori” spacecraft was captured by the International Space Station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm, operated by Chris Cassidy with the assistance of Ivan Vagner. The Japanese space cargo ship, which blasted off last Wednesday, carries a huge amount of supplies and experiments. After its capture, they started the slow moving of HTV-9 to its berthing location on the Harmony module, where it will be safely installed.
A few hours ago the Progress MS-14 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and was placed on its ultra-fast track in its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 75 or 75P. After almost 3.5 hours it reached the International Space Station docking with its Zvezda module.
