Tag: international space station
Boeing capsule completes major flight test in desert
Boeing’s capsule for astronauts has undergone its first major flight test, shooting a mile into the air then parachuting back to the New Mexico desert. The Starliner capsule carried no crew, just a test dummy for the one-and-a-half-minute test of the launch abort system. Only two of the three main parachutes opened, but both NASA…
NASA brings all-female spacewalk forward after space station power failure
NASA has moved the first all-female spacewalk to this week because of a power system failure at the International Space Station. Astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir will now venture out Thursday or Friday, instead of next Monday. A battery power controller failed over the weekend, prompting the change. The women will replace the broken…
Cosmonaut who performed first spacewalk dies aged 85
Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space 54 years ago, has died in Moscow aged 85. Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed his death in a statement on its website, but gave no further details. Alexei Leonov carried out his first space walk in 1965 (Mikhail Klimentyev/AP) Mr Leonov performed his spacewalk on March…
Astronauts take spacewalk to replace old batteries
Astronauts have kicked off the first of five spacewalks to replace old batteries at the International Space Station. Christina Koch and Andrew Morgan had to remove a pair of old batteries and install a new one delivered just a week ago. These new lithium-ion batteries are so powerful that only one is needed for every…
Tim Peake: People will land on Mars within 50 years
Within 50 years a human will have been to Mars, astronaut Tim Peake believes. But the European Space Agency astronaut is not convinced the feat will be achieved in the next two decades. Speaking at the UK Space Conference in Newport, Major Peake said he thought it was unlikely life would be found on the…
Space station relocates capsule to help Soyuz
The crew of the International Space Station has successfully relocated a Soyuz space capsule to another docking port to facilitate the rendezvous with another spacecraft. The manoeuvre followed Saturday’s failed docking of the Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft. The docking attempt was aborted due to a suspected glitch linked to an automated control system on board the…
Russian capsule carrying robot fails Space Station docking
A Russian space capsule carrying a humanoid robot has failed to dock as planned with the International Space Station. A statement from the Russian space agency Roscosmos said the failure to dock on Saturday was because of problems in the docking system. It said the space station itself and the six-person crew are safe. Given…
NASA launches Orion crew capsule to test abort system
NASA has conducted a full-stress launch abort test for the Orion capsules designed to carry astronauts to the moon. The capsule was empty for the demo, which officials said appeared to be successful. Barely a minute after lift-off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, the abort motor fired, pulling the capsule from the booster about…
SpaceX delays supply launch to International Space Station
SpaceX has delayed a supply run to the International Space Station. A Falcon rocket was poised to blast off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with a Dragon cargo capsule. However, a last-minute problem cropped up with the ocean platform for recovering the first-stage booster following lift-off. SpaceX said it will try again on Saturday. Standing down…
Spacewalking astronauts replace International Space Station batteries
Spacewalking astronauts are conducting more battery work outside the International Space Station. NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch floated outside, a week after the first spacewalk to install new and stronger batteries for the station’s solar power grid. Ms Koch was supposed to go out with Anne McClain, but there weren't enough medium suits…
