Launches

The DART spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image NASA)

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A few hours ago, NASA’s DART mission was launched on a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg base. After about 56 minutes, the spacecraft successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set off on its way to reaching the binary asteroid Didymos to attempt to change the orbit of its satellite Dimorphos. The impact should take place in September 2022 and be monitored from Earth and the Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube nanosatellite launched together with the space probe.

The Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Photo NASA/Joel Kowsky)

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A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-3 or SpaceX Crew-3 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 third crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew. This is also the first mission for the Endurance and is the first to transport rookie astronauts.

Progress MS-18 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz-2.1a rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, the Progress MS-18 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 route. The cargo spacecraft began its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 79 or 79P. In this mission, the route used is the one that requires about two days.

The Lucy space probe blasting off atop an Atlas V 401 rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago NASA’s Lucy mission blasted off atop an Atlas V 401 rocket from Cape Canaveral. Almost 58 minutes after launch, the space probe separated regularly from the rocket’s last stage and entered the trajectory that is programmed to lead it towards Jupiter’s orbit, where there are the so-called Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids. There, Lucy will begin a series of flybys on a mission that is expected to last approximately 12 years.

The launch of the Shenzhou 13 mission (Photo courtesy Xinhua)

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A confirmation has arrived that the three Chinese taikonauts of the Shenzhou 13 mission have reached the Chinese space station’s Tianhe core module with an automated docking maneuver. They blasted off about six and a half hours earlier on a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. They’re the second crew of the Chinese space station and will remain there for about six months, twice the length of the Shenzhou 12 mission.