A little while ago, SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station’s Harmony module completing the first part of its CRS-30 mission. Astronauts Loral O’Hara and her colleague Mike Barratt monitored the operation but the cargo spacecraft, which blasted off when it was Thursday afternoon in the USA, completed the maneuvers automatically without any problem.
A few hours ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-30 (Cargo Resupply Service 30) mission, also referred to as SPX-30. After almost exactly 12 minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 30th mission for the Dragon/Dragon 2 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.
SpaceX conducted a new flight test of its Super Heavy rocket and Starship prototypes, launched from its base in Boca Chica, Texas. This is the third test involving the entire system of Elon Musk’s company which is supposed to revolutionize space travel with an unprecedented transport capacity and being totally reusable. In this case, however, they are prototypes with the Super Heavy identified as Booster 10 and the Starship identified as Starship 28 or Ship28 or simply S28. After the second test conducted on November 18, 2023, many changes were made to the Super Heavy and Starship systems. Despite the upgrades, they don’t have the safety requirements required to conduct controlled landings, so the plans continue to have the test ending with both vehicles splashing down.
A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft concluded its Crew-7, or SpaceX Crew-7, mission for NASA by landing without problems. On board were astronauts Jasmin Moghbeli, Andreas Mogensen, and Satoshi Furukawa and cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, who had reached the International Space Station on August 27, 2023, and were part of Expedition 69/70. The four of them finished the seventh regular crewed mission of SpaceX in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Pensacola, Florida. The Crew Dragon departed the Station a bit more than 18 hours earlier.
A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station completing the first part of its Crew-8 or SpaceX Crew-8 mission that began with its launch about 28 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure gets properly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Aleksandr Grebenkin, Michael Barratt, Matthew Dominick, and Jeanette Epps to enter the Station and start their mission, which will last about six months.
