Roscosmos

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket in its Crew-5 mission (Image NASA TV)

A little while ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in its Crew-5 or SpaceX Crew-5 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 5th crewed mission of the Crew Dragon spacecraft within the normal rotation of the International Space Station crew. This is also the second mission for the Endurance.

The Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft departing the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

A little while ago, cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev, and Sergey Korsakov returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-21 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. They spent just over 6 months on the International Space Station, where they arrived on March 18, 2022, as part of Expedition 66.

On Wednesday, September 28, Oleg Artemyev officially handed over the command of the International Space Station to Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, marking the start of Expedition 68.

The Soyuz MS-22 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

A few hours ago, the Soyuz MS-22 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 Rassvet module. As is becoming increasingly common for crewed trips as well, the ultra-fast track was used which halves the journey duration.

The Progress MS-20 spacecraft approaching the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

A few hours ago, the Progress MS-20 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 ultra-fast track in its resupply mission to the International Space Station also called Progress 81 or 81P. After almost 3.5 hours it reached the International Space Station docking with its Zvezda module.

The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft leaves the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

A little while ago, cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov and astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, which landed in Kazakhstan. Shkaplerov spent nearly 6 months on the International Space Station, where he arrived on October 5, 2021, as part of Expedition 65. Dubrov and Vande Hei arrived on April 9, 2021, as part of Expedition 64 and completed a long-duration mission.