SpaceX Crew-2 Dragon mission postponed by a day
Derek Richardson
April 21st, 2021
The Falcon 9 with the Crew-2 Dragon, Endeavour, on Launch Complex 39A. Credit: Theresa Cross / Spaceflight Insider
SpaceX and NASA have delayed the Crew-2 Dragon mission’s launch to the International Space Station by a day because of weather concerns.
Liftoff of Crew Dragon Endeavour with its four-person crew is now slated for 5:49 a.m. EDT (09:49 UTC) April 23, 2021 at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A. The 45th Weather Squadron is predicting a 90% chance of favorable conditions for launch for this attempt with the primary area of concern being liftoff winds.
Soyuz MS-17 crew returns to Earth after 6 months aboard ISS
Derek Richardson
April 17th, 2021
Soyuz MS-17 and its three crew members descend under a parachute toward the Kazakh Steppe in Kazakhstan. Credit: NASA
Three International Space Station Expedition 64 crew members returned to Earth after spending 185 days aboard the orbiting outpost.
Soyuz MS-17 with Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins undocked from the ISS at 9:34 p.m. EDT April 16 (01:34 UTC April 17). Less than 3.5 hours later, the spacecraft’s capsule landed on the Kazakh Steppe in Kazakhstan.
NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, left, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, center, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov returned to Earth April 17, 2021. Credit: NASA
Soyuz MS-18 reaches International Space Station after 2 orbits
Derek Richardson
April 9th, 2021
Soyuz MS-18 launches from Kazakhstan on a two-orbit trek to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA
Two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut took the express lane to the International Space Station, reaching the outpost in their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft less than four hours after launch.
Aboard were cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Pyotr Dubrov and NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei. Liftoff atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan took place at 3:42 a.m. EDT (7:42 UTC) April 9, 2021. After just two orbits, or 3.5 hours, Soyuz MS-18 docked with the Rassvet module.
Spaceflight Insider
Derek Richardson
April 8th, 2021
The rear section of the 20-year-old Zvezda service module is the location of a slight air leak aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Roscosmos
Russian cosmonauts are still working to plug a slight air leak aboard the International Space Station, which was first noticed in 2019 and located in 2020.
NASA and Roscosmos continue to emphasize there is no risk to the seven-person crew and the pressure drop due to the leak is far below emergency values.
During the last half of 2020, astronauts and cosmonauts worked to find the source of the leak by systematically closing hatches throughout the outpost to look for pressure differences between sections. Ultimately it was determined to be coming from the rear compartment of the 20-year-old Zvezda service module.
Crew-1 Dragon astronauts take spacecraft for a spin around ISS
Derek Richardson
April 5th, 2021
SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon and its four-person astronaut crew relocated from the forward docking port on the Harmony module to the space-facing port in an effort to prepare for the arrival of Crew-2 and CRS-22 in the coming weeks and months. Credit: NASA
In one of the final major activities of the Crew-1 mission, its four astronaut riders suited up to relocate docking ports to clear the way for the next Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
At 6:30 a.m. EDT (10:30 UTC) April 5, 2021, SpaceX’s Crew-1 Dragon and its occupants undocked from International Docking Adapter 2 at the forward end of the Harmony module and began a 40-minute-long process to back away and fly around to space-facing International Docking Adapter 3.