Astronauts

The Shenzhou 21 spacecraft blasting off atop a Long March-2F rocket (Photo courtesy Xinhua)

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A confirmation has arrived that three Chinese taikonauts from the Shenzhou 21 mission reached the Chinese space station Tiangong with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about 3.5 hours earlier atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They form the 10th crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, the standard duration for a mission.

The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft after splashing down at the end of its Crew-10 mission (Image NASA+)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft completed its Crew-10, or SpaceX Crew-10, mission for NASA with a successful splashdown. Aboard were astronauts Anne McClain, Nichole Ayers, and Takuya Onishi, and cosmonaut Kirill Peskov, who had arrived at the International Space Station on March 16, 2025, as part of Expedition 72/73. The Crew-10 members completed SpaceX’s 10th regular crewed mission in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California. The Crew Dragon had left the Station approximately 17.5 hours earlier.

The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station in its Crew-11 mission (Image NASA+)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft docked with the Harmony module of the International Space Station, completing the first part of its Crew-11 or SpaceX Crew-11 mission that began with its launch about 15.5 hours earlier. After checking that the pressure gets properly balanced, the hatch will be opened to allow Oleg Platonov, Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui, and Zena Cardman to enter the Station and start their mission, which could last even 8 months.

The Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft after splashing down (Image courtesy Axiom Space)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft concluded its Ax-4 mission by splashing down without problems. On board were Shubhanshu Shukla, Peggy Whitson, Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, and Tibor Kapu, who ended this completely private space mission in the Atlantic Ocean after leaving the International Space Station almost 48 hours earlier. Shortly after splashing down, SpaceX’s recovery ship went to retrieve the Grace and its crew to transport them to the coast.

The Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket to start its Ax-4 mission (Image NASA)

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A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Grace spacecraft was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on the Axiom Mission 4, or simply Ax-4, mission. After about twelve minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage. It will spend up to 14 days in orbit, almost all of which will be docked at the International Space Station. It also serves commercial purposes in a collaboration between SpaceX, Axiom Space, and various companies and national space agencies to access the Station for the purpose of conducting tasks useful for the development of new technologies and for scientific research.