Spacecraft

The Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft after splashdown (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft ended its SpX-DM2 (SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2) or SpaceX Demo-2 mission on behalf of NASA by landing without problems. On board were American astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who finished SpaceX’s first crewed mission in the Atlantic Ocean off Pensacola, Florida. The Crew Dragon left the International Space Station almost a day earlier. Shortly after splashing down, the SpaceX ship called “Go Navigator” went to retrieve the Crew Dragon and its crew to transport them to the coast.

The Progress MS-15 cargo spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA)

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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.

The Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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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.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft starts its SPX-DM2 mission blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago SpaceX’s Crew Dragon spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its SpX-DM2 (SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2) or SpaceX Demo-2 mission. After about eleven minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the first crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, in this case with Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken on board.

The HTV-9 cargo spacecraft captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm (Image NASA TV)

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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.