SpaceX Dragon Launches from Apollo Pad to Resupply Space Station

A SpaceX Dragon capsule has successfully launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket from the historic Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on a mission to resupply the International Space Station.

From the same launchpad used to send men to the Moon during the Apollo missions, the Commercial Resupply Services(CRS)-10 mission blasted off at 9:39 a.m. Eastern Time bound for the orbiting laboratory.

CRS-10 lifted off from the historic Launch Complex 39A at 9:39 a.m. EST

credit: NASA

Today's events mark the first time a rocket has roared to life at Pad 39A since the final flight of the space shuttle programme in July 2011.

Just eight minutes after launch, the rocket's expended first stage fell back to Earth, fired its engines, before successfully landing upright for the second time at SpaceX's Landing Zone-1 -  around 15 kilometers south of Launch Complex 39.

The vehicle will arrive at the space station on early on Monday, February 22 carrying science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory in support of the Expedition 50 and 51 crews.

Among the investigations are experiments with potential to fight human disease and a new autonomous spacecraft docking technology for testing.

From the station's Cupola, NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough alongside European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet will capture Dragon with the station's robotic arm, Canadarm-2(Grapple is scheduled at 6 a.m.) before flight controllers in Mission Control in Houston berth Dragon to the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module a few hours later.

Today's launch marks the beginning of the tenth Dragon resupply ship to fly to the International Space Station and the first commercial flight from Pad-39A.

Dragon was originally scheduled to launch a day earlier on February 18, but a problem with the positioning of the vehicle's second stage engine nozzle led to an abort at T-13 seconds.

Just two days after Dragon's arrival to the station, the Russian Progress 66 resupply craft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 12:58 a.m. EST on February 22 to deliver food, fuel and supplies to the International Space Station, followed by manual docking on Friday morning.

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Soyuz Trio Arrive at International Space Station

The Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft carrying three astronauts and cosmonauts has arrived at the International Space Station, just six hours after launch from Kazakhstan.

The Soyuz rocket carrying Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, NASA astronaut Terry Virts and Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 21:01 GMT.

On reaching Earth orbit less than nine minutes after launch, the Soyuz spacecraft deployed it's solar arrays, performed a series of orbital burns and manoeuvres- setting its course for the orbiting complex.

After a four orbit orbital rendezvous, the Soyuz successfully docked with the Rassvet Module of the International Space Station's Russian segment at 02:53.

The Expedition 42 crew aboard the ISS speaking with family.

The hatches between the Soyuz and the station were opened after leak checks were completed, as Shkaplerov, Virts and Cristoforetti were greeted by the Expedition 42 prime crew members already aboard the station, restoring the station's crew complement to six people.

The new station residents who are expected to remain on the ISS for the next five months, before returning to Earth in May 2015. They will begin life aboard their new home by adjusting to microgravity and becoming familiar with their surroundings.

This is the second long duration mission mission to the ISS for Shkaplerov, who spent six months aboard the orbital laboratory as a Flight Engineer during Expedition 29/30. 

This is the first long duration flight for Virts, and his second flight into space, after piloting Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station on shuttle mission STS-130 back in 2010.

This is the first flight into space for rookie ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, having been selected as an astronaut by the agency in 2009.

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Orbital Sciences Cygnus Cargo Craft Departs Space Station

The Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo craft named "G. David Low" has departed the International Space Station after spending nearly a month docked to the orbiting laboratory.

Cygnus, which is making its maiden voyage to the station, arrived at the ISS on September 29 carrying 1,300 pounds of cargo for the crew on board. It was docked to the station's Harmony Module by ESA Astronaut Luca Parmitano and NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg. Since then, the Expedition 37 crew living on station have been busy unloading cargo, and filling it instead with waste materials no longer needed on the ISS.

Cygnus Docked to the Harmony Module of the
International Space Station
credit: NASA

The Cygnus vehicle was unberthed from Harmony before it was released by the station's Canadarm2 at 12:31 p.m.

Cygnus will spend a short time in low-Earth Orbit before before it is de-orbited for a fiery demise over the Pacific Ocean.

The departure of Cygnus marks the beginning of a period of heavy traffic for the International Space Station. On October 28, just six days after today's events, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle "Albert Einstein" will undock from the station's Zvezda Service Module, after spending more than four months at the orbiting complex.

Expedition 37 crew member Sergey Ryazanskiy
working in the Poisk Mini Research Module
credit: NASA

This will clear the way for the Soyuz TMA-09M crew; Commander Fyodor Yurchikin, Karen Nyberg and Luca Parmitano; to relocate their spacecraft from the station's Rassvet Module to the vacant docking port on Zvezda. This will allow the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft to dock with Rassvet, just six hours after launch on November 7 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, bringing Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, JAXA Astronaut Koichi Wakata and NASA Astronaut Rick Mastracchio to the ISS.

As a result, there will be nine astronauts and cosmonauts aboard station for around four days, before Yurchikin, Nyberg and Parmitano will leave the International Space Station, their home for the past 5 months.

Before they leave, Expedition 37 commader Yurchikin will hand over command of the International Space Station to fellow Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov.

The trio will depart on November 11, marking the beginning of the 38th Expedition to the International Space Station.

Progress 52 Resupply Ship Docks to ISS

An unpiloted Russian cargo ship carrying nearly three tons of supplies for the Expedition 36 crew docked to the International Space Station less than six hours after launch Saturday.

The ISS Progress 52 resupply ship docked with the station’s Pirs docking compartment at 10:26 p.m. EDT, delivering 1,212 pounds of propellant, 42 pounds of oxygen, 62 pounds of air, 926 pounds of water and 3,395 pounds of spare parts, maintenance equipment and experiment hardware. Included in the cargo are tools identified for possible repairs to the U.S. spacesuits on the station. At the time of docking Progress 52 and the station were flying 260 miles over the Pacific Ocean approaching the west coast of South America.

The space freighter launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 4:45 p.m. EDT (2:45 a.m. Sunday Kazakhstan time) on an accelerated, four-orbit journey to rendezvous with the station. At the time of launch, the station was flying 260 miles over southern Russia near the border between Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

 See the launch of the Progress 52 here

Progress 52 Approaches the ISS prior to docking
credit: NASA

The docking port on Pirs was previously occupied by the ISS Progress 50 cargo craft, which departed Thursday after spending five months at the station.

The crew will conduct a series of leak checks at the Pirs docking interface before opening the Progress hatch to begin the long process of unloading the cargo.

Once emptied of its cargo, Progress 52 will be filled with trash and station discards and then undocked later this year for a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Progress 51 Set to Dock Friday Following Antenna Problems

The Russian Progress 51 spacecraft, which launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, is set to dock with the International Space Station on Friday at 1:26 p.m. GMT.


The Progress launched on Wednesday loaded with over 6,000 pounds worth of cargo, which includes fresh food for the astronauts on board the orbiting outpost, oxygen, spare parts and propellant, is set to rendezvous and dock to the ISS following the traditional two-day journey to the orbiting laboratory.

The Progress Resupply Vehicle Approaches the ISS
Credit: NASA

At the moment however, Russian Flight Controllers and International Space Station Managers are continuing to monitor a situation which developed after the Progress reached low-Earth orbit. The Progress' solar arrays were deployed shortly after launch as planned. However, one of the antennas for the KURS automated rendezvous system did not deploy, with  its antennas still folded up against the side of the vehicle. Teams made up of a number of Programme Managers are now assessing the safety of a docking to the space station's Zvezda Service Module, before determining whether Progress will press ahead for its planned docking on Friday.

More to follow...