SpaceX

SpaceX's Dragon 2 spacecraft blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image courtesy SpaceX)

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A little while ago the SpaceX Dragon 2 spacecraft blasted off atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in its CRS-21 (Cargo Resupply Service 21) mission, also referred to as SPX-21. After just over eleven minutes it separated successfully from the rocket’s last stage and went en route. This is the 21st 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 first mission for this Dragon version.

The Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich satellite blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image NASA TV)

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A short time ago, the Sentinel-6A Michael Freilich satellite was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg base. After almost exactly an hour, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and set off on its course to reach the polar orbit at 1,336 kilometers altitude where its scientific mission will begin.

This mission is a collaboration between NASA, ESA, EUMETSAT, and NOAA. For this reason, it was named Michael Freilich after the former Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division, who passed away on August 5, 2020, alongside NASA’s Jason satellites and at the same time is part of ESA’s Copernicus program.

SpaceX's Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft docking to the International Space Station (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft docked to the International Space Station’s Harmony module completing the first part of its Crew-1 or SpaceX Crew-1 mission that began last Sunday with its launch. After checking that the pressure is correctly balanced, the hatch was opened to allow Shannon Walker, Victor Glover, Mike Hopkins, and Soichi Noguchi to enter the Station.

The Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft after splashdown (Image NASA TV)

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A little while ago SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Endeavor spacecraft ended its SpX-DM2 (SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2) or SpaceX Demo-2 mission on behalf of NASA by landing without problems. On board were American astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, who finished SpaceX’s first crewed mission in the Atlantic Ocean off Pensacola, Florida. The Crew Dragon left the International Space Station almost a day earlier. Shortly after splashing down, the SpaceX ship called “Go Navigator” went to retrieve the Crew Dragon and its crew to transport them to the coast.