Spacecraft

The Dragon 2 cargo sapcecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket to start its CRS-25 mission (Photo NASA)

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A few hours ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its CRS-25 (Cargo Resupply Service 25) mission, also referred to as SPX-25. After almost exactly 12 minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 25th 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.

The Shenzhou 14 mission starts blasting off atop a Long March-2F rocket (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Li Gang)

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The confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 14 mission have reached the Chinese space station’s Tianhe core module with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about seven hours earlier atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They’re the third crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, the standard duration for a mission.

The Progress MS-20 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, the Progress MS-20 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 81 or 81P. After almost 3.5 hours it reached the International Space Station docking with its Zvezda module.

The CST-100 Starliner spacecraft landing to end its OFT 2 mission (Photo NASA/Bill Ingalls)

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A few hours ago, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft landed at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, ending its Boe-OFT 2 (Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2) mission. It departed the International Space Station, where it arrived on May 21, just over 4 hours earlier. The Starliner doesn’t splash down in the ocean but lands on the ground. The ground staff intervened in an assistance activity exercise that will take place in missions with astronauts. On board were over 250 kg of miscellaneous cargoes that need to be unloaded and the Rosie dummy.

Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station’s Harmony module carrying out the first part of its Boe-OFT 2 (Boeing Orbital Flight Test 2) or OFT-2 mission which began with the launch just over 24 hours earlier. The hatch is scheduled to open in the American morning and all work on the Starliner will be completed rather quickly, as it could depart already on May 25.