Spacecraft

The Dragon cargo spacecraft departing the International Space Station to end its CRS-30 mission (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft ended its CRS-30 (Cargo Resupply Service 30) mission for NASA splashing down smoothly off the Florida Coast. The Dragon left the International Space Station a little more than 36 hours earlier. For SpaceX, this was the 10th mission of the 2nd contract with NASA to transport supplies to the Station with the new version of the Dragon cargo spacecraft.

Shortly after the splashdown, SpaceX’s recovery ship went to retrieve the Dragon to transport it to the coast. The cargo brought back to Earth will be delivered to NASA within a few hours. The Dragon spacecraft reached the International Space Station on March 23, 2024.

The Shenzhou 18 mission blasting off atop a Long March-2F rocket (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Li Gang)

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A confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts from the Shenzhou 18 mission reached the Chinese space station Tiangong with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about 6.5 hours earlier atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They form the 7th crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, the standard duration for a mission.

The three taikonauts, as the Chinese call their astronauts, of the Shenzhou 18 mission are Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu.

The Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft surrounded by the support crew (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago, cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Marina Vasilevskaya and astronaut Loral O’Hara returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. Novitsky completed a one-year mission on the International Space Station, Vasilevskaya was a visitor who stayed on the Station for a few days while O’Hara spent a bit more than 6 months on the Station.

The Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft, which blasted off about two days ago from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, has reached the International Space Station carrying one new crew member and two visitors. Astronaut Tracy Dyson of NASA is part of Expedition 70/71 while cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos and the Belarusian Marina Vasilevskaya will remain on the Station for a few days.