A little while ago, SpaceX’s Dragon 2 spacecraft docked with the International Space Station’s Harmony module completing the first part of its CRS-32 mission. Astronaut Jonny Kim and his colleague Takuya Onishi monitored the operation but the cargo spacecraft, which blasted off about 28 hours earlier, completed the maneuvers automatically without any problem.
A little while ago, the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-32 (Cargo Resupply Service 32) mission, also referred to as SPX-32. After almost 10 minutes, it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 32nd mission for the Dragon/Dragon 2 spacecraft to resupply the International Space Station with various cargoes and then return to Earth, again with various cargoes.
A few hours ago, cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner and astronaut Don Pettit returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. They had reached the International Space Station on September 11, 2024, as part of a crew rotation that has returned to normal after some time.
On Friday, April 18, Alexey Ovchinin officially handed over command of the International Space Station to Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi. The launch of the Soyuz MS-26 spacecraft marked the start of Expedition 73.
A few hours ago, the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and, after a little more than three hours, reached the International Space Station with three new crew members on board. It docked with the Station’s Prichal module. The ultra-fast track was used, which halves the journey duration and is used whenever the Station’s position makes it possible.
A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft concluded its Crew-9, or SpaceX Crew-9, mission for NASA by landing without problems. On board were astronauts Nick Hague and cosmonaut Alexander Gorbunov, who reached the International Space Station on September 29, 2024, and were part of Expedition 72, along with astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, who reached the International Space Station on Boeing’s Starliner Calypso spacecraft on June 6, 2024, and were part of Expedition 71/72. The original members of the Crew-9 mission completed SpaceX’s 9th regular crewed mission of in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Florida. The Crew Dragon departed the Station almost 17 hours earlier.
