Cargo spaceship

SpaceX's Dragon 2 cargo spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Photo NASA/Kim Shiflett)

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A few hours ago the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-22 (Cargo Resupply Service 22) mission, also referred to as SPX-22. After almost exactly 12 minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 22nd mission for the Dragon spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes. It’s the second mission for this Dragon version.

The Chinese Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft blasting off (Photo courtesy Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)

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A few hours ago the Chinese Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft docked to the Tianhe core module of the Chinese space station successfully completing an automated maneuver. Tianzhou-2 was launched a few hours earlier atop a Long March-7 Y3 rocket from the Wenchang site. This is the first space cargo spacecraft launched towards the new Chinese space station, carrying propellant and supplies for the taikonauts, as the Chinese call their astronauts, who will start working on the station starting in mid-June, according to plan.

The Cygnus Katherine Johnson cargo spacecraft captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm (Image NASA TV)

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Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft, launched last Saturday, February 20, has just reached the International Space Station and was captured by the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Astronaut Soichi Noguchi, assisted by his colleague Michael Hopkins, will soon begin the slow maneuver to move the Cygnus until it docks with the Station’s Unity module after about two hours.

The Cygnus Katherine Johnson cargo spacecraft blasting off atop an Antares rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago, Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus spacecraft blasted off atop an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), part of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Wallops Island. After about nine minutes it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage went en route to its destination. This is its 15th official mission, called NG-15 or CRS NG-15, to transport supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.