Astronauts

Blogs about astronaut activities

The taikonauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu after the end of the Shenzhou 18 mission (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Li Xin)

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It was night in China when the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 18 mission returned to Earth after spending a little more than six months on the Chinese space station Tiangong, where they arrived on April 25. The three taikonauts Ye Guangfu, Li Cong, and Li Guangsu had left the station about nine hours earlier to land at a site called Dongfeng in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. It’s a procedure that significantly reduces the time to return to Earth and now has become routine.

The Shenzhou 19 mission launches atop a Long March-2F rocket (Photo courtesy Wang Jiangbo/Xinhua)

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A confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts from the Shenzhou 19 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 8th crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, the standard duration for a mission.

The Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft loaded onto the MV Megan ship after splashdown (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft concluded its Crew-8, or SpaceX Crew-8, mission for NASA by landing without problems. On board were astronauts Matthew Dominick, Mike Barratt, and Jeanette Epps and cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin, who had reached the International Space Station on March 5, 2024, and were part of Expedition 70/71/72. The four of them finished the 8th regular crewed mission of SpaceX in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon departed the Station about 34 hours earlier.

Shortly after the splashdown, SpaceX’s “MV Megan” ship went to recover the Endeavour and its crew to transport them to the coast. The astronauts also received their first medical checkup aboard the ship.

The Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft docked with the International Space Station in its Crew-9 mission (NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station completing the first part of its Crew-9 or SpaceX Crew-9 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 Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov to enter the Station and start their mission, which will last about five months.

The Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket in its Crew-9 mission (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-9 or SpaceX Crew-9 mission. After almost exactly twelve minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and went en route to carry out its mission. This is the 9th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew.