French astronaut captures stunning images of Earth's marvels from International Space Station

<p>Russia&nbsp;said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos.</p>

<p>Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX.</p>

<p>The Russian space agency announced the film project Thursday after NASA confirmed last year it was teaming up with US actor Tom Cruise to make a movie on the ISS.</p>

<p>The Russian "space drama", whose working title is "Challenge," will feature popular Russian actress&nbsp;Yulia Peresild, 36, and Klim Shipenko, a 37-year-old director and actor, Roscosmos said.</p>

<p>They will have to undergo training, including tests on a centrifuge and flights in zero gravity, starting no later than June 1.</p>

<p>The film is being co-produced by the flamboyant head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, and state-run network Channel One.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/japanese-billionaire-entrepreneur-yusaku-maezawa-to-travel-to-international-space-station-384793" hreflang="en">Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The space agency also announced plans to take Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the ISS in December, resurecting its space tourism programme in the face of US competition.</p>

<p>Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, said he planned to document the mission and share it with the world on his YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers.</p>

<p>Roscosmos said Maezawa would make the flight from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with production assistant Yozo Hirano aboard a Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for December 8.</p>

<p>"I'm so curious 'What's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa was quoted as saying by Roscosmos.</p>

<p>The eccentric billionaire has previously announced plans to take eight people with him on a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft built by Musk's SpaceX.</p>

<p>Maezawa and film producer Hirano will begin approximately three months of pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added.</p>

<p>They have already passed the required medical examinations, it said.</p>

<p>Roscosmos said the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, who has already been on two missions to the ISS.</p>

<p>A total of eight private self-funded space travellers have visited the ISS and Maezawa will be the first from Japan.</p>

<p>His flight will also be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists.</p>

<p>"We are excited for Maezawa-san and we are honoured to have enabled this opportunity for him to fly to space," said Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, a private spaceflight company.</p>

<p>It has cooperated with Roscosmos since the first space tourist flight in 2001.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Maezawa will be the first space tourist to travel to the ISS since 2009 when Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, travelled to the station.</p>

<p>According to Forbes magazine, space tourists could pay anywhere between $20 million and $35 million per person for 8-12 days in space.&nbsp;The cost of Maezawa's flight has not been disclosed.</p>

<p>The resumption of tourist flights comes after Roscosmos lost its monopoly on ferrying crews to the ISS when a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space.</p>

<p>Russia's space industry has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years, from corruption scandals to lost spacecraft to an aborted take-off during a manned mission in 2018.</p>

<p>Russia's ageing Soyuz rockets are reliable and allow Moscow to remain relevant in the modern space industry, but the country is struggling to innovate and keep up with other key players.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Russia&nbsp;launched the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. The Soviets maintained their lead in the initial years of the race.&nbsp;</p>

<p>They boasted the first manned flight to space by Gagarin on April 12, 1961, the first spacewalk four years later by Alexei Leonov and the first lunar probe in 1966. But the United States beat them to the moon with the first manned landing in 1969.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Russia said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos. Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX.

Russia said Thursday it would send an actress and a director to space to make the first feature film in the cosmos. Moscow is seeking to boost its embattled space programme, which has stagnated since the Soviet Union under corruption and been overtaken by US tech billionaire Elon Musk's company SpaceX. The Russian space agency announced the film project Thursday after NASA confirmed last year it was teaming up with US actor Tom Cruise to make a movie on the ISS. The Russian "space drama", whose working title is "Challenge," will feature popular Russian actress Yulia Peresild, 36, and Klim Shipenko, a 37-year-old director and actor, Roscosmos said. They will have to undergo training, including tests on a centrifuge and flights in zero gravity, starting no later than June 1. The film is being co-produced by the flamboyant head of Roscosmos, Dmitry Rogozin, and state-run network Channel One. Also read| Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station The space agency also announced plans to take Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa to the ISS in December, resurecting its space tourism programme in the face of US competition. Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, said he planned to document the mission and share it with the world on his YouTube channel with over 700,000 subscribers. Roscosmos said Maezawa would make the flight from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan with production assistant Yozo Hirano aboard a Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for December 8. "I'm so curious 'What's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa was quoted as saying by Roscosmos. The eccentric billionaire has previously announced plans to take eight people with him on a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft built by Musk's SpaceX. Maezawa and film producer Hirano will begin approximately three months of pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added. They have already passed the required medical examinations, it said. Roscosmos said the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, who has already been on two missions to the ISS. A total of eight private self-funded space travellers have visited the ISS and Maezawa will be the first from Japan. His flight will also be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists. "We are excited for Maezawa-san and we are honoured to have enabled this opportunity for him to fly to space," said Eric Anderson, CEO of Space Adventures, a private spaceflight company. It has cooperated with Roscosmos since the first space tourist flight in 2001. Maezawa will be the first space tourist to travel to the ISS since 2009 when Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil, travelled to the station. According to Forbes magazine, space tourists could pay anywhere between $20 million and $35 million per person for 8-12 days in space. The cost of Maezawa's flight has not been disclosed. The resumption of tourist flights comes after Roscosmos lost its monopoly on ferrying crews to the ISS when a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space. Russia's space industry has suffered a number of setbacks in recent years, from corruption scandals to lost spacecraft to an aborted take-off during a manned mission in 2018. Russia's ageing Soyuz rockets are reliable and allow Moscow to remain relevant in the modern space industry, but the country is struggling to innovate and keep up with other key players. Russia launched the first artificial satellite on October 4, 1957. The Soviets maintained their lead in the initial years of the race. They boasted the first manned flight to space by Gagarin on April 12, 1961, the first spacewalk four years later by Alexei Leonov and the first lunar probe in 1966. But the United States beat them to the moon with the first manned landing in 1969. (With inputs from agencies)

Roscosmos to send film crew to space for first feature film

<p>Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.</p>

<p>Maezawa and Hirano will travel aboard a Russian "Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for launch on December 8, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome" in Kazakhstan, the agency said in a statement.</p>

<p>Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, also plans to participate in a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft of SpaceX, the Roscosmos rival of US billionaire Elon Musk.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Maezawa and film producer Hirano, who will be documenting the mission, will begin pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, a closed town outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added.</p>

<p>It said that the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.</p>

<p>"I'm so curious 'what's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa said, as quoted by Roscosmos.</p>

<p>It will be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists.</p>

<p>The last time Roscosmos took a tourist to the ISS was in 2009, with the flight of Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The resumption of these tourist flights comes as Roscosmos lost its monopoly for ferrying crews to the ISS after a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday.

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa and his assistant Yozo Hirano will be the next tourists to travel to the International Space Station (ISS), Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Thursday. Maezawa and Hirano will travel aboard a Russian "Soyuz MS-20 spacecraft that is scheduled for launch on December 8, 2021 from the Baikonur cosmodrome" in Kazakhstan, the agency said in a statement. Maezawa, 45, who made his fortune in online retail, also plans to participate in a 2023 mission around the moon aboard a Starship spacecraft of SpaceX, the Roscosmos rival of US billionaire Elon Musk. Maezawa and film producer Hirano, who will be documenting the mission, will begin pre-flight training in June at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre in Star City, a closed town outside of Moscow, Roscosmos added. It said that the flight will last 12 days and the crew will be led by Cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin. "I'm so curious 'what's life like in space?' So, I am planning to find out on my own and share with the world on my YouTube channel," Maezawa said, as quoted by Roscosmos. It will be the first time that two of the three spots on a Soyuz space rocket will be occupied by tourists. The last time Roscosmos took a tourist to the ISS was in 2009, with the flight of Canadian Guy Laliberte, co-founder of Cirque du Soleil. The resumption of these tourist flights comes as Roscosmos lost its monopoly for ferrying crews to the ISS after a reusable SpaceX rocket last year successfully delivered NASA astronauts to space. (With inputs from agencies)

Japanese billionaire entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa to travel to International Space Station

<p>The debris of China's Long March 5B rocket, which last week launched the core module of the country's space station, is set to re-enter the earth's atmosphere this weekend, raising concerns where it could fall and the potential damage it could cause.</p>

<p>The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it was tracking a large Chinese rocket that is out of control and set to re-enter earth's atmosphere this weekend.</p>

<p>The Chinese Long March 5B rocket is expected to enter earth's atmosphere "around May 8," the report quoted a statement from Defence Department spokesperson Mike Howard, who said the US Space Command is tracking the rocket's trajectory.</p>

<p>The rocket's "exact entry point into the earth's atmosphere" can't be pinpointed until within hours of re-entry, Howard said, but the 18th Space Control Squadron will provide daily updates on the rocket's location through the Space Track website.</p>

<p>The rocket was used by China to launch part of its space station on Thursday. While most space debris objects may burn up in the atmosphere, the rocket's size, 22 tonnes, has prompted concern that large parts could re-enter and cause damage if they hit inhabited areas.</p>

<p>Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Centre at Harvard University said, "I don't think people should take precautions. The risk that there will be some damage or that it would hit someone is pretty small -- not negligible, it could happen -- but the risk that it will hit you is incredibly tiny. And so I would not lose one second of sleep over this on a personal threat basis," he said.</p>

<p>Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted him as saying that ''we don't know where&nbsp;the re-entry would take place. (It would be) at worst like a small plane crash but stretched out in a line over hundreds of kilometres.''</p>

<p>The debris is ''under close watch''&nbsp;and is likely to fall back to earth in international waters, the Post quoted a source with knowledge of China's space programme.</p>

<p>It was uncertain how many fragments would remain after re-entry, he said, ''but enough to cause damage.''</p>

<p>Industry news site SpaceNews said the ''more likely possibility''&nbsp;was that the core stage would fall in an uninhabited area or in an ocean.<br />
Song Zhongping, a former instructor of the Chinese military's rocket corps, said the debris would fall in a safe place such as international waters or an uninhabited part of the country.</p>

<p>Last year, the re-entry debris from the first Long March 5B flight fell on the Ivory Coast damaging several homes in villages. It was the largest craft to crash to earth since the US space laboratory Skylab scattered debris over the southern Australian town of Esperance in 1979, the Post report said.</p>

<p>China is expected to carry out more launches in its space station programme in the coming weeks as it aims to complete the space station project next year.</p>

<p>Once finished, the structure will have a mass of about 100 tonnes, about a quarter of the size of the International Space Station, (ISS), which is 15 years old and expected to be decommissioned in the coming years.</p>

<p>After that, the Tiangong is expected to be the only space station operating in near-earth orbit by the end of the decade.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


The debris of China's Long March 5B rocket, which last week launched the core module of the country's space station, is set to re-enter the earth's atmosphere this weekend, raising concerns where it could fall and the potential damage it could cause.

The debris of China's Long March 5B rocket, which last week launched the core module of the country's space station, is set to re-enter the earth's atmosphere this weekend, raising concerns where it could fall and the potential damage it could cause. The Pentagon said on Tuesday that it was tracking a large Chinese rocket that is out of control and set to re-enter earth's atmosphere this weekend. The Chinese Long March 5B rocket is expected to enter earth's atmosphere "around May 8," the report quoted a statement from Defence Department spokesperson Mike Howard, who said the US Space Command is tracking the rocket's trajectory. The rocket's "exact entry point into the earth's atmosphere" can't be pinpointed until within hours of re-entry, Howard said, but the 18th Space Control Squadron will provide daily updates on the rocket's location through the Space Track website. The rocket was used by China to launch part of its space station on Thursday. While most space debris objects may burn up in the atmosphere, the rocket's size, 22 tonnes, has prompted concern that large parts could re-enter and cause damage if they hit inhabited areas. Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Astrophysics Centre at Harvard University said, "I don't think people should take precautions. The risk that there will be some damage or that it would hit someone is pretty small -- not negligible, it could happen -- but the risk that it will hit you is incredibly tiny. And so I would not lose one second of sleep over this on a personal threat basis," he said. Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post quoted him as saying that ''we don't know where the re-entry would take place. (It would be) at worst like a small plane crash but stretched out in a line over hundreds of kilometres.'' The debris is ''under close watch'' and is likely to fall back to earth in international waters, the Post quoted a source with knowledge of China's space programme. It was uncertain how many fragments would remain after re-entry, he said, ''but enough to cause damage.'' Industry news site SpaceNews said the ''more likely possibility'' was that the core stage would fall in an uninhabited area or in an ocean. Song Zhongping, a former instructor of the Chinese military's rocket corps, said the debris would fall in a safe place such as international waters or an uninhabited part of the country. Last year, the re-entry debris from the first Long March 5B flight fell on the Ivory Coast damaging several homes in villages. It was the largest craft to crash to earth since the US space laboratory Skylab scattered debris over the southern Australian town of Esperance in 1979, the Post report said. China is expected to carry out more launches in its space station programme in the coming weeks as it aims to complete the space station project next year. Once finished, the structure will have a mass of about 100 tonnes, about a quarter of the size of the International Space Station, (ISS), which is 15 years old and expected to be decommissioned in the coming years. After that, the Tiangong is expected to be the only space station operating in near-earth orbit by the end of the decade. (With inputs from agencies)

US tracking out-of-control wreckage of Chinese rocket falling back to Earth

<p>A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts departed the International Space Station late Saturday, aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown to end the company’s second crew flight.</p>

<p>It would be the first U.S. splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8′s crew returned from the moon in 1968.</p>

<p>NASA’s Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi, headed home in the same Dragon capsule that delivered them to the space station last November. The ride back was expected to take just 6 1/2 hours.</p>

<p>“Thanks for your hospitality,” Hopkins radioed as the capsule undocked 260 miles (420 kilometres) above Mali.</p>

<p>SpaceX targeted a splashdown around 3 a.m. Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Despite the early hour, the Coast Guard deployed extra patrols — and spotlights — to keep any night-owl sightseers away. The capsule of the first SpaceX crew was surrounded by pleasure boaters last summer, posing a safety risk.</p>

<p>Hopkins, the spacecraft commander, rocketed into orbit with his crew on Nov. 15 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Their replacements arrived a week ago aboard their Dragon capsule — the same one that launched SpaceX’s first crew last spring.</p>

<p>The four should have been back by now, but the high offshore wind kept them at the space station a few extra days. SpaceX and NASA determined the best weather would be before dawn.</p>

<p>The delays allowed Glover to celebrate his 45th birthday in space Friday.</p>

<p>“Gratitude, wonder, connection. I’m full of and motivated by these feelings on my birthday, as my first mission to space comes to an end,” Glover tweeted.</p>

<p>Saturday night’s undocking left seven astronauts at the space station: three Americans, two Russians, one Japanese and one French.</p>


A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts departed the International Space Station late Saturday, aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown to end the company’s second crew flight.

A SpaceX capsule carrying four astronauts departed the International Space Station late Saturday, aiming for a rare nighttime splashdown to end the company’s second crew flight. It would be the first U.S. splashdown in darkness since the Apollo 8′s crew returned from the moon in 1968. NASA’s Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker, and Japan’s Soichi Noguchi, headed home in the same Dragon capsule that delivered them to the space station last November. The ride back was expected to take just 6 1/2 hours. “Thanks for your hospitality,” Hopkins radioed as the capsule undocked 260 miles (420 kilometres) above Mali. SpaceX targeted a splashdown around 3 a.m. Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida. Despite the early hour, the Coast Guard deployed extra patrols — and spotlights — to keep any night-owl sightseers away. The capsule of the first SpaceX crew was surrounded by pleasure boaters last summer, posing a safety risk. Hopkins, the spacecraft commander, rocketed into orbit with his crew on Nov. 15 from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Their replacements arrived a week ago aboard their Dragon capsule — the same one that launched SpaceX’s first crew last spring. The four should have been back by now, but the high offshore wind kept them at the space station a few extra days. SpaceX and NASA determined the best weather would be before dawn. The delays allowed Glover to celebrate his 45th birthday in space Friday. “Gratitude, wonder, connection. I’m full of and motivated by these feelings on my birthday, as my first mission to space comes to an end,” Glover tweeted. Saturday night’s undocking left seven astronauts at the space station: three Americans, two Russians, one Japanese and one French.

SpaceX capsule departs International Space Station with 4 astronauts, heads home

<p>A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts back to Earth splashed down off Panama City early Sunday, a NASA Livestream showed.</p>

<p>Boats were retrieving the spacecraft and crew after their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.</p>

<p>The crew reported they were feeling well, NASA said.</p>

<p>The capsule splashed down at 2:56 am&nbsp;in the dark in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast after a six-and-a-half-hour flight from the ISS, images relayed by NASA's WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft showed.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">WATCH LIVE: NASA’s <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a> Crew-1 astronauts return to Earth inside the Dragon Resilience after a six-month science mission aboard the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>. Splashdown off the coast of Florida is targeted for 2:57am ET (06:57 UT). <a href="https://t.co/qGjGIYPM52">https://t.co/qGjGIYPM52</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1388734930327330818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>Astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi went to space last November as the crew on the first fully operational mission to the ISS aboard a vehicle made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has become NASA's favoured commercial transportation partner.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">🐉 <a href="https://twitter.com/SpaceX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SpaceX</a>’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and its four Crew-1 astronauts are being placed safely inside the Dragon's nest aboard the Go Navigator recovery ship. Up next ➡️ the crew exits the spacecraft. <a href="https://t.co/5GEVNWu3VP">pic.twitter.com/5GEVNWu3VP</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1388757052516884482?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 2, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>Seven astronauts remained on the ISS including a new crew of four who arrived on a different SpaceX craft last week.</p>

<p>"Thanks for your hospitality," Hopkins said earlier as the capsule undocked from the space station for its return journey. "We'll see you back on Earth."</p>

<p>Before that, two American astronauts made a test mission to the ISS in May and stayed for two months.&nbsp;</p>

<p>That was the first launch to the ISS from US soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. It was also the first crewed mission run by a private company, as opposed to NASA.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Until then US astronauts had caught rides to the ISS aboard Russian spacecraft.</p>


A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts back to Earth splashed down off Panama City early Sunday, a NASA Livestream showed. Boats were retrieving the spacecraft and crew after their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station.

A SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule carrying four astronauts back to Earth splashed down off Panama City early Sunday, a NASA Livestream showed. Boats were retrieving the spacecraft and crew after their six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. The crew reported they were feeling well, NASA said. The capsule splashed down at 2:56 am in the dark in the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast after a six-and-a-half-hour flight from the ISS, images relayed by NASA's WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft showed. WATCH LIVE: NASA’s @SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts return to Earth inside the Dragon Resilience after a six-month science mission aboard the @Space_Station. Splashdown off the coast of Florida is targeted for 2:57am ET (06:57 UT). https://t.co/qGjGIYPM52 — NASA (@NASA) May 2, 2021 × Astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japan's Soichi Noguchi went to space last November as the crew on the first fully operational mission to the ISS aboard a vehicle made by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has become NASA's favoured commercial transportation partner. 🐉 @SpaceX’s Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft and its four Crew-1 astronauts are being placed safely inside the Dragon's nest aboard the Go Navigator recovery ship. Up next ➡️ the crew exits the spacecraft. pic.twitter.com/5GEVNWu3VP — NASA (@NASA) May 2, 2021 × Seven astronauts remained on the ISS including a new crew of four who arrived on a different SpaceX craft last week. "Thanks for your hospitality," Hopkins said earlier as the capsule undocked from the space station for its return journey. "We'll see you back on Earth." Before that, two American astronauts made a test mission to the ISS in May and stayed for two months. That was the first launch to the ISS from US soil since the end of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. It was also the first crewed mission run by a private company, as opposed to NASA. Until then US astronauts had caught rides to the ISS aboard Russian spacecraft.

International Space Station astronauts splashdown off Florida on SpaceX craft

<p>China on Thursday launched the first module of its new space station, state television showed,&nbsp;a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space.</p>

<p>The Tianhe core module, which houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, was launched from Wenchang in China's tropical Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket.</p>

<p>The space station is expected to become fully operational in 2022 after around 10 missions to bring up more parts and assemble them in orbit.</p>

<p>Billions of dollars have been poured into space exploration as China seeks to assert its rising global stature and growing technological might, following in the footsteps of the United States and Russia.</p>

<p>Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed space programme employees cheering as the rocket powered its way through the atmosphere billowing flames from the launch site.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Once completed, the Chinese space station is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometres above Earth for 15 years.</p>

<p>While China does not plan to use its space station for international cooperation on the scale of the ISS, Beijing has said it is open to foreign collaboration without giving details of the scope of that cooperation.</p>

<p>The country has come a long way since its first satellite in 1970.</p>

<p>It put the first Chinese "taikonaut" in space in 2003 and sent a probe in to Mars orbit earlier this year.</p>

<p>China launched the Tiangong-1 lab, its first prototype module intended to lay the groundwork for the permanent station, in September 2011.</p>

<p>China has prioritised space exploration in recent years, with the aim of becoming a major space power by 2030.</p>

<p>By 2045, it hopes to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


China on Thursday launched the first module of its new space station, state television showed, a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space.

China on Thursday launched the first module of its new space station, state television showed, a milestone in Beijing's ambitious plan to place a permanent human presence in space. The Tianhe core module, which houses life support equipment and a living space for astronauts, was launched from Wenchang in China's tropical Hainan province on a Long-March 5B rocket. The space station is expected to become fully operational in 2022 after around 10 missions to bring up more parts and assemble them in orbit. Billions of dollars have been poured into space exploration as China seeks to assert its rising global stature and growing technological might, following in the footsteps of the United States and Russia. Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed space programme employees cheering as the rocket powered its way through the atmosphere billowing flames from the launch site. Once completed, the Chinese space station is expected to remain in low Earth orbit at between 400 and 450 kilometres above Earth for 15 years. While China does not plan to use its space station for international cooperation on the scale of the ISS, Beijing has said it is open to foreign collaboration without giving details of the scope of that cooperation. The country has come a long way since its first satellite in 1970. It put the first Chinese "taikonaut" in space in 2003 and sent a probe in to Mars orbit earlier this year. China launched the Tiangong-1 lab, its first prototype module intended to lay the groundwork for the permanent station, in September 2011. China has prioritised space exploration in recent years, with the aim of becoming a major space power by 2030. By 2045, it hopes to establish a programme operating thousands of space flights a year and carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of cargo and passengers. (With inputs from agencies)

China launches first module for new space station

<p>A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT.</p>

<p>"For crewed missions we need to look downrange to make sure weather's good for a potential launch escape, and for recovery of the crew," acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk told reporters.</p>

<p>The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European.</p>

<p>It involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet, who is French.</p>

<p>The mission is notable because it is first to rely on a previously deployed booster and a capsule that had also been used before</p>

<p>"(It is) really helping us to see the full capability and really realizing the dreams that we had when we started this effort, about 10 years ago with SpaceX," NASA's certification manager for SpaceX Tom Simon told AFP.</p>

<p>NASA's immediate goal is to be able to reuse booster rockets at least five times for human space flights.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT.

A crewed SpaceX mission to International Space Station has been postponed due to bad weather. The liftoff was scheduled for Thursday (April 22), but now will take place on Friday (April 23) at 0949 GMT. "For crewed missions we need to look downrange to make sure weather's good for a potential launch escape, and for recovery of the crew," acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk told reporters. The Crew-2 mission will carry four astronauts in the second routine taxi ride by SpaceX to ISS since the United States resumed crewed space flight, and the first with a European. It involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet, who is French. The mission is notable because it is first to rely on a previously deployed booster and a capsule that had also been used before "(It is) really helping us to see the full capability and really realizing the dreams that we had when we started this effort, about 10 years ago with SpaceX," NASA's certification manager for SpaceX Tom Simon told AFP. NASA's immediate goal is to be able to reuse booster rockets at least five times for human space flights. (With inputs from agencies)

SpaceX mission to ISS postponed due to bad weather

<p>Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of Roscosmos said work had already begun on the first module of the new space station.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"The first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works," Rogozin said in a statement on messaging app Telegram.&nbsp;</p>

<p>He said Russia's Energia space corporation was aiming to have the module "ready for launch" in 2025 and released a video of Energia staff at work.</p>

<p>The announcement came with tensions soaring over espionage claims, a Russian troop build-up along Ukraine's borders and the deteriorating health of President Vladimir Putin's imprisoned critic Alexei Navalny.</p>

<p>International Space Station (ISS) which is currently in orbit is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history.</p>

<p>The ISS was launched in 1998 with co-operation between Russia, the US, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency.</p>

<p>Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station's age.</p>

<p>However, Roscosmos said on Monday that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made.</p>

<p>"When we make a decision we will start negotiations with our partners on forms and conditions of cooperation beyond 2024," the space agency told AFP in a statement.</p>

<p>Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of US company Space X.</p>

<p>Despite its much-lauded history -- Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit -- the country's space programme has struggled in recent years.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme.

Russian space agency Roscosmos on Tuesday said that it hoped to launch its own space station in 2025. Moscow is considering withdrawing from the International Space Station programme. Dmitry Rogozin, chief of Roscosmos said work had already begun on the first module of the new space station. "The first core module of the new Russian orbital station is in the works," Rogozin said in a statement on messaging app Telegram. He said Russia's Energia space corporation was aiming to have the module "ready for launch" in 2025 and released a video of Energia staff at work. The announcement came with tensions soaring over espionage claims, a Russian troop build-up along Ukraine's borders and the deteriorating health of President Vladimir Putin's imprisoned critic Alexei Navalny. International Space Station (ISS) which is currently in orbit is one of the most ambitious international collaborations in human history. The ISS was launched in 1998 with co-operation between Russia, the US, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency. Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov said in recent days that Moscow was considering whether to leave the ISS programme from 2025 because of the station's age. However, Roscosmos said on Monday that a decision on quitting the ISS had not yet been made. "When we make a decision we will start negotiations with our partners on forms and conditions of cooperation beyond 2024," the space agency told AFP in a statement. Russia lost its monopoly for manned flights to the ISS last year after the first successful mission of US company Space X. Despite its much-lauded history -- Russia this month marked the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in orbit -- the country's space programme has struggled in recent years. (With inputs from agencies)

Russia to launch its own space station in 2025

<p>SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European.</p>

<p>Liftoff is planned for 6:11 am Eastern Time (1011 GMT) on April 22, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.</p>

<p>The mission, called Crew-2, involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet.</p>

<p>All have flown to space previously.</p>

<p>ESA has dubbed the mission "Alpha" after the star Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own.</p>

<p>Elon Musk's SpaceX has firmly established itself as NASA's favoured transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule to carry out key tests.</p>

<p>SpaceX's first crewed test flight in May 2020 ended nine years of American reliance on Russian rockets for rides to the ISS following the demise of the Space Shuttle program.</p>

<p>Thursday's flight will reuse the booster rocket used in the Crew-1 mission -- a first -- and the Crew Dragon capsule will be the same as that used in the test mission.</p>

<p>Speaking to reporters ahead of the mission, Pesquet said his participation underscored Europe's commitment to space flight.</p>

<p>"It means a lot for us as an agency because we've been part of the ISS program for 20 years now and we intend to be part of what's coming next," said the Frenchman, referring to future partnerships including the Artemis program to the Moon.</p>

<p><strong>Crowded lodgings</strong></p>

<p>Pesquet told AFP he was excited to ride in the futuristic and fully autonomous Crew Dragon, which was markedly different from the Russian Soyuz spaceship he had previously flown.</p>

<p>"The way it's laid out, it's just fantastic, you know all the time what's going on," he said.</p>

<p>"On Soyuz, it's unbelievably reliable, but you had to make sense of all that information that was... disseminated at every corner of the control panel, with digital gauges, analogue gauges, and you had to make sense of this and that's why the training was much longer."</p>

<p>The four astronauts will overlap for a few days with the crew of Crew-1 before that team returns from its six-month mission.</p>

<p>With three Russians on board, the station is set to become unusually crowded, accommodating no fewer than 11 people.</p>

<p>Pesquet and Hoshide planned to liven up the cuisine with national dishes from their home countries.</p>

<p>Pesquet for his part divulged one of the meals was crepe Suzette -- a quintessentially French dessert.</p>

<p><strong>Mini brains</strong></p>

<p>During their mission, the crew will be tasked with carrying out numerous scientific experiments, with Pesquet singling out one examining the effects of weightlessness on brain organoids -- mini-brains created using stem cell technology -- as a favourite.</p>

<p>Scientists hope this research can eventually help space agencies prepare for distance space missions which will expose crews to the rigours of space for long periods, and even help fight brain disease here on Earth.</p>

<p>"It sounds like science fiction to me," joked the aerospace engineer.</p>

<p>Another important element of the mission is upgrading the station's solar power system by installing new compact panels that roll open like a huge yoga mat.</p>

<p>Crew-2's launch day coincides with Earth Day, and by the time the crew returns they will have also contributed to environmental research by taking 1.5 million images of phenomena like artificial lighting at night, algal blooms, and the breakdown of Antarctic ice shelves.</p>


SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European.

SpaceX is preparing to carry four astronauts to a crowded International Space Station on Thursday, in the second routine mission since the United States resumed a crewed space flight and the first with a European. Liftoff is planned for 6:11 am Eastern Time (1011 GMT) on April 22, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission, called Crew-2, involves US astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, along with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)'s Akihiko Hoshide, and the European Space Agency (ESA)'s Thomas Pesquet. All have flown to space previously. ESA has dubbed the mission "Alpha" after the star Alpha Centauri, the closest star system to our own. Elon Musk's SpaceX has firmly established itself as NASA's favoured transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's troubled Starliner capsule to carry out key tests. SpaceX's first crewed test flight in May 2020 ended nine years of American reliance on Russian rockets for rides to the ISS following the demise of the Space Shuttle program. Thursday's flight will reuse the booster rocket used in the Crew-1 mission -- a first -- and the Crew Dragon capsule will be the same as that used in the test mission. Speaking to reporters ahead of the mission, Pesquet said his participation underscored Europe's commitment to space flight. "It means a lot for us as an agency because we've been part of the ISS program for 20 years now and we intend to be part of what's coming next," said the Frenchman, referring to future partnerships including the Artemis program to the Moon. Crowded lodgings Pesquet told AFP he was excited to ride in the futuristic and fully autonomous Crew Dragon, which was markedly different from the Russian Soyuz spaceship he had previously flown. "The way it's laid out, it's just fantastic, you know all the time what's going on," he said. "On Soyuz, it's unbelievably reliable, but you had to make sense of all that information that was... disseminated at every corner of the control panel, with digital gauges, analogue gauges, and you had to make sense of this and that's why the training was much longer." The four astronauts will overlap for a few days with the crew of Crew-1 before that team returns from its six-month mission. With three Russians on board, the station is set to become unusually crowded, accommodating no fewer than 11 people. Pesquet and Hoshide planned to liven up the cuisine with national dishes from their home countries. Pesquet for his part divulged one of the meals was crepe Suzette -- a quintessentially French dessert. Mini brains During their mission, the crew will be tasked with carrying out numerous scientific experiments, with Pesquet singling out one examining the effects of weightlessness on brain organoids -- mini-brains created using stem cell technology -- as a favourite. Scientists hope this research can eventually help space agencies prepare for distance space missions which will expose crews to the rigours of space for long periods, and even help fight brain disease here on Earth. "It sounds like science fiction to me," joked the aerospace engineer. Another important element of the mission is upgrading the station's solar power system by installing new compact panels that roll open like a huge yoga mat. Crew-2's launch day coincides with Earth Day, and by the time the crew returns they will have also contributed to environmental research by taking 1.5 million images of phenomena like artificial lighting at night, algal blooms, and the breakdown of Antarctic ice shelves.

SpaceX to take 4 astronauts to International Space Station on Thursday

<p>We just have one planet. We may advance our know-how and dream of moving en-masse to other planets but no planet in the universe will nurture us like Mother Earth. And it is because of this, images of Earth taken from space have a special place. Sure, we'll have plenty of stars, planets and galaxies to click. But images of our blue planet will always be cherished. NASA has posted new images of Earth.</p>

<p>These new images have been captured from International Space Station (ISS). NASA has posted these images from their Instagram account.</p>

<p>The new images are in celebration of Earth Day, which is fast approaching (April 22).</p>

<p>"...Leading up to Earth Day, we invite you to celebrate our blue marble!..." says NASA in its Instagram post. The 'blue marble' is of course our Earth.</p>

<p>"In these stunning images, the natural systems – land, water, air, ice – connect to each other to bring life. No matter whether we are on land or in space, we are unified by this tiny blue planet – and that’s something to celebrate..." NASA said</p>

<p>It has posted four photos in total. Check them out below. Click on the arrows to see the next image in the frame below.</p>

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<p>In this universe, our gaze may be deep and wide. We may have the capacity to uncover deepest mysteries of the universe. But sometimes, once in a while, it doesn't hurt to look back and appreciate the planet that has let our roots grow strong.</p>


We just have one planet. We may advance our know-how and dream of moving en-masse to other planets but no planet in the universe will nurture us like Mother Earth.

We just have one planet. We may advance our know-how and dream of moving en-masse to other planets but no planet in the universe will nurture us like Mother Earth. And it is because of this, images of Earth taken from space have a special place. Sure, we'll have plenty of stars, planets and galaxies to click. But images of our blue planet will always be cherished. NASA has posted new images of Earth. These new images have been captured from International Space Station (ISS). NASA has posted these images from their Instagram account. The new images are in celebration of Earth Day, which is fast approaching (April 22). "...Leading up to Earth Day, we invite you to celebrate our blue marble!..." says NASA in its Instagram post. The 'blue marble' is of course our Earth. "In these stunning images, the natural systems – land, water, air, ice – connect to each other to bring life. No matter whether we are on land or in space, we are unified by this tiny blue planet – and that’s something to celebrate..." NASA said It has posted four photos in total. Check them out below. Click on the arrows to see the next image in the frame below. View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA (@nasa) × In this universe, our gaze may be deep and wide. We may have the capacity to uncover deepest mysteries of the universe. But sometimes, once in a while, it doesn't hurt to look back and appreciate the planet that has let our roots grow strong.

NASA posts stunning new photos of Earth captured from International Space Station

<p>US space agency NASA is set to launch SpaceX Crew Dragon second flight to the International Space Station on April 22.<br />
<br />
The Crew-2 with four astronauts on board will lift off at 6:11 a.m. EDT on April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.<br />
<br />
The Crew-2 flight will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, who will serve as the mission's spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihikoa Hoshidea and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomasa-Pesquet, who will serve as mission specialists to the space station, the space agency said in a statement.<br />
<br />
The mission is the second of the six certified, crew missions NASA, and SpaceX will fly as a part of the agency's Commercial Crew Programme. Crew-1 successfully docked into the ISS in November, last year.<br />
<br />
The Crew-2 astronauts will remain aboard the space station for approximately six months as expedition crew members, along with three crewmates who will launch via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft.<br />
<br />
The increase of the full space station crew complement to seven members, over the previous six,&nbsp;&nbsp;will allow NASA to effectively double the amount of science that can be conducted in space, NASA said.</p>

<p>Kathy Lueders, head of NASA’s human exploration office, said it was “moving” to be on the verge of flying three SpaceX crew flights in 11 months.</p>

<p>“Looking back, it’s really, really amazing what both the SpaceX and NASA teams have accomplished,” she said.</p>

<p>SpaceX said it must resolve one issue before conducting a test firing at the launch pad this weekend. It appears the company has been loading more liquid oxygen into its first-stage boosters than anticipated, and engineers want to make “extra certain” that poses no safety risks, said Bill Gerstenmaier, a new SpaceX vice president who used to work for NASA.</p>

<p>For nearly a decade, the only route to the space station for astronauts was on Russian rockets. NASA turned to private companies for taxi service after the space shuttles retired in 2011. SpaceX has been shipping cargo to the space station since 2012, using the same kind of rocket and similar capsules, and recycling those parts as well.</p>

<p><em>(With input from agencies)</em></p>


US space agency NASA is set to launch SpaceX Crew Dragon second flight to the International Space Station on April 22. The Crew-2 with four astronauts on board will lift off at 6:11 a.

US space agency NASA is set to launch SpaceX Crew Dragon second flight to the International Space Station on April 22. The Crew-2 with four astronauts on board will lift off at 6:11 a.m. EDT on April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Crew-2 flight will carry NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur, who will serve as the mission's spacecraft commander and pilot, respectively along with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) astronaut Akihikoa Hoshidea and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomasa-Pesquet, who will serve as mission specialists to the space station, the space agency said in a statement. The mission is the second of the six certified, crew missions NASA, and SpaceX will fly as a part of the agency's Commercial Crew Programme. Crew-1 successfully docked into the ISS in November, last year. The Crew-2 astronauts will remain aboard the space station for approximately six months as expedition crew members, along with three crewmates who will launch via a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. The increase of the full space station crew complement to seven members, over the previous six, will allow NASA to effectively double the amount of science that can be conducted in space, NASA said. Kathy Lueders, head of NASA’s human exploration office, said it was “moving” to be on the verge of flying three SpaceX crew flights in 11 months. “Looking back, it’s really, really amazing what both the SpaceX and NASA teams have accomplished,” she said. SpaceX said it must resolve one issue before conducting a test firing at the launch pad this weekend. It appears the company has been loading more liquid oxygen into its first-stage boosters than anticipated, and engineers want to make “extra certain” that poses no safety risks, said Bill Gerstenmaier, a new SpaceX vice president who used to work for NASA. For nearly a decade, the only route to the space station for astronauts was on Russian rockets. NASA turned to private companies for taxi service after the space shuttles retired in 2011. SpaceX has been shipping cargo to the space station since 2012, using the same kind of rocket and similar capsules, and recycling those parts as well. (With input from agencies)

NASA SpaceX Crew-2 set for launch on April 22

<p>A three-man crew docked at the International Space Station Friday after a flight honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space.</p>

<p>NASA's Mark Vande Hei and Russia's Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will spend six months in the ISS working on biology, biotechnology, and Earth science experiments.</p>

<p>"There is contact!" Russia's space agency Roscosmos wrote on Twitter.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="ru">Утро 9 апреля на космодроме Байконур, полная фотогалерея: <a href="https://t.co/qvfxW5auup">https://t.co/qvfxW5auup</a> 📸🚀<br />
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Открытие переходных люков между кораблем <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%8E%D0%B7%D0%9C%D0%A118?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#СоюзМС18</a> и Международной космической станцией ожидается в 16:00 мск <a href="https://t.co/JOFeBKbjyT">pic.twitter.com/JOFeBKbjyT</a></p>
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) <a href="https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1380486998415265794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 9, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>"Hey, Expedition 64 –- set the dinner table... Can't wait to join you on&nbsp;@Space_Station&nbsp;in a few hours!" Vande Hei tweeted to the crew on board the ISS hours before blast-off.</p>

<p>The launch came just ahead of Monday's anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight on April 12, 1961.&nbsp;</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/first-man-in-space-the-story-of-yuri-gagarin-376116/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Reminders of his achievement were everywhere at the Russia-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as Novitsky, Dubrov and Vande Hei prepared for their half-year mission aboard the orbital lab.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;Soyuz&nbsp;MS-18 spacecraft that the trio took off in has been named&nbsp;after the legendary cosmonaut and Gagarin's portrait has been added to its exterior.</p>

<p>Gagarin also came up more than once in the traditional pre-flight press conference on Thursday, where the crew was asked how they planned to mark the anniversary once in space.</p>

<p>"We'll celebrate it together," said 43-year-old Dubrov, who is flying to space for the first time. "And we'll work hard!"&nbsp;</p>

<p>Friday's blast-off was from a different launchpad than the one used for Gagarin's one and only mission, which saw him spend 108 minutes in orbit.</p>

<p>Last used in 2019, the Gagarin launchpad is undergoing upgrades in preparation for a new generation of&nbsp;Soyuz&nbsp;rockets and expected to return to action in 2023.</p>

<p>Gagarin's mission was a propaganda coup for the Soviet Union and a huge win in the space race with the West, which became one of the Cold War's most exciting subplots.</p>

<p>But the anniversary comes at a difficult time for Russia's space industry, which has suffered a number of setbacks recently, from industry corruption scandals to an aborted take-off scuppering a manned mission in 2018.</p>

<p>Perhaps most importantly, Roscosmos and Baikonur last year lost their monopoly over manned ISS launches, as reusable rockets from Elon Musk's Space X delivered NASA astronauts to the station from American soil.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The emergence of commercial competitors has left Roscosmos with a financial headache, NASA has paid the company tens of millions of dollars per seat for astronauts sent to the ISS.</p>

<p>Russian space officials still talk up new ventures, including bringing back samples from Venus and creating a rocket capable of making 100 round trips to space.</p>

<p>Yet the space budget has fallen year by year as President Vladimir Putin prioritises increased military spending.</p>


A three-man crew docked at the International Space Station Friday after a flight honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space.

A three-man crew docked at the International Space Station Friday after a flight honouring the 60th anniversary of Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becoming the first person in space. NASA's Mark Vande Hei and Russia's Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov will spend six months in the ISS working on biology, biotechnology, and Earth science experiments. "There is contact!" Russia's space agency Roscosmos wrote on Twitter. Утро 9 апреля на космодроме Байконур, полная фотогалерея: https://t.co/qvfxW5auup 📸🚀 Открытие переходных люков между кораблем #СоюзМС18 и Международной космической станцией ожидается в 16:00 мск pic.twitter.com/JOFeBKbjyT — РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) April 9, 2021 × "Hey, Expedition 64 –- set the dinner table... Can't wait to join you on @Space_Station in a few hours!" Vande Hei tweeted to the crew on board the ISS hours before blast-off. The launch came just ahead of Monday's anniversary of Gagarin's historic flight on April 12, 1961. Reminders of his achievement were everywhere at the Russia-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as Novitsky, Dubrov and Vande Hei prepared for their half-year mission aboard the orbital lab. The Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft that the trio took off in has been named after the legendary cosmonaut and Gagarin's portrait has been added to its exterior. Gagarin also came up more than once in the traditional pre-flight press conference on Thursday, where the crew was asked how they planned to mark the anniversary once in space. "We'll celebrate it together," said 43-year-old Dubrov, who is flying to space for the first time. "And we'll work hard!" Friday's blast-off was from a different launchpad than the one used for Gagarin's one and only mission, which saw him spend 108 minutes in orbit. Last used in 2019, the Gagarin launchpad is undergoing upgrades in preparation for a new generation of Soyuz rockets and expected to return to action in 2023. Gagarin's mission was a propaganda coup for the Soviet Union and a huge win in the space race with the West, which became one of the Cold War's most exciting subplots. But the anniversary comes at a difficult time for Russia's space industry, which has suffered a number of setbacks recently, from industry corruption scandals to an aborted take-off scuppering a manned mission in 2018. Perhaps most importantly, Roscosmos and Baikonur last year lost their monopoly over manned ISS launches, as reusable rockets from Elon Musk's Space X delivered NASA astronauts to the station from American soil. The emergence of commercial competitors has left Roscosmos with a financial headache, NASA has paid the company tens of millions of dollars per seat for astronauts sent to the ISS. Russian space officials still talk up new ventures, including bringing back samples from Venus and creating a rocket capable of making 100 round trips to space. Yet the space budget has fallen year by year as President Vladimir Putin prioritises increased military spending.

NASA's crew in Soyuz MS-18 docks at ISS after flight honouring Gagarin

After spending a year at the International Space Station, a batch of grapevines returned to earth for a tasting session in Bourdeaux. Can the wine tasters differentiate between the space-aged wine and the one aged on earth? WION's Palki Sharma tells you the story.

Gravitas: Does fine wine still taste fine after a space voyage?

<p>The&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may&nbsp;help grow plants on Mars.</p>

<p>In order to withstand the rigours of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria.</p>

<p><strong>Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/breakthrough-first-plant-transplant-takes-place-in-international-space-station-360217">'Breakthrough': First plant transplant takes place in International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can help researchers create the 'fuel' to help plants withstand such stressful situations.</p>

<p>The findings published in the&nbsp;Frontiers in Microbiology described the discovery&nbsp;of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights.</p>

<p>While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum.</p>

<p>Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/perseverance-searches-for-life-on-mars-369682/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p><strong>Potential for Mars missions</strong></p>

<p>Now, in honor of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientists Dr Ajmal Khan, the team has proposed to call the novel species Methylobacterium ajmalii.</p>

<p>Commenting on the discovery, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL), says that the strains might possess " biotechnologically useful genetic determinants" for the growing of crops in space.</p>

<p>However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming.</p>

<p>"To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential," they said.</p>

<p>Along with JPL, other researchers collaborating on this discovery are based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad in India.</p>

<p>With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars - and potentially beyond - the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a "test-bed for surveying microorganisms", according to Venkat and Singh.</p>

<p>"Since our group possess expertise in cultivating microorganisms from extreme niches, we have been tasked by the NASA Space Biology Program to survey the ISS for the presence and persistence of the microorganisms," they add.</p>

<p>"Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed."</p>

<p><strong>Expanding the ISS lab</strong></p>

<p>As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last 6 years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber.</p>

<p>While hundreds of bacterial samples from the ISS have been analyzed to date, approximately 1,000 samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station but are awaiting a trip back to Earth where they can be examined.</p>

<p>According to Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS.</p>

<p>"Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies," Venkat and Singh said.</p>

<p>"This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology - a biosensor development - will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time."<br />
&nbsp;</p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may help grow plants on Mars.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has discovered three bacterial strains at the International Space Station that may help grow plants on Mars. In order to withstand the rigours of space on deep-space missions, food grown outside of Earth needs a little extra help from bacteria. Also read| 'Breakthrough': First plant transplant takes place in International Space Station The recent discovery aboard the International Space Station (ISS) can help researchers create the 'fuel' to help plants withstand such stressful situations. The findings published in the Frontiers in Microbiology described the discovery of bacteria belonging to the family Methylobacteriaceae from different locations aboard the ISS across two consecutive flights. While 1 strain was identified as Methylorubrum rhodesianum, the other 3 were previously undiscovered and belong to a novel species novel. The rod-shaped, motile bacteria were given the designations IF7SW-B2T, IIF1SW-B5, and IIF4SW-B5 with genetic analysis showing them to be closely related to Methylobacterium indicum. Methylobacterium species are involved in nitrogen fixation, phosphate solubilization, abiotic stress tolerance, plant growth promotion and biocontrol activity against plant pathogens. Potential for Mars missions Now, in honor of the renowned Indian biodiversity scientists Dr Ajmal Khan, the team has proposed to call the novel species Methylobacterium ajmalii. Commenting on the discovery, Dr Kasthuri Venkateswaran (Venkat) and Dr Nitin Kumar Singh of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, (JPL), says that the strains might possess " biotechnologically useful genetic determinants" for the growing of crops in space. However, further experimental biology is needed to prove that it is, indeed, a potential game-changer for space farming. "To grow plants in extreme places where resources are minimal, isolation of novel microbes that help to promote plant growth under stressful conditions is essential," they said. Along with JPL, other researchers collaborating on this discovery are based at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles; Cornell University and the University of Hyderabad in India. With NASA one day looking to take humans to the surface of Mars - and potentially beyond - the US National Research Council Decadal Survey recommends that the space agency use the ISS as a "test-bed for surveying microorganisms", according to Venkat and Singh. "Since our group possess expertise in cultivating microorganisms from extreme niches, we have been tasked by the NASA Space Biology Program to survey the ISS for the presence and persistence of the microorganisms," they add. "Needless to say, the ISS is a cleanly-maintained extreme environment. Crew safety is the number 1 priority and hence understanding human/plant pathogens are important, but beneficial microbes like this novel Methylobacterium ajmalii are also needed." Expanding the ISS lab As part of an ongoing surveillance mission, 8 locations on the ISS are being monitored for bacterial growths and have been for the last 6 years. These sample areas include where the crew assembles or where experiments are conducted, such as the plant growth chamber. While hundreds of bacterial samples from the ISS have been analyzed to date, approximately 1,000 samples have been collected from various other locations on the space station but are awaiting a trip back to Earth where they can be examined. According to Venkat and Singh, the eventual goal is to bypass this lengthy process and potentially find new novel strains using molecular biology equipment developed and demonstrated for the ISS. "Instead of bringing samples back to Earth for analyses, we need an integrated microbial monitoring system that collect, process, and analyze samples in space using molecular technologies," Venkat and Singh said. "This miniaturized 'omics in space' technology - a biosensor development - will help NASA and other space-faring nations achieve safe and sustainable space exploration for long periods of time."

NASA discovers three microbes that may help grow plants on Mars

<p>The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.''</p>

<p>The next launch window for a NASA crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket has been pushed&nbsp;to April 20.</p>

<p>The flight marks only the second full-fledged space station crew-rotation mission launched aboard a private company's spacecraft - a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tipped with the Crew Dragon capsule it will carry into orbit.</p>

<p><strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/russias-soyuz-spacecraft-takes-quickest-crew-trip-to-international-space-station-334731">Also see:&nbsp;Russia's Soyuz spacecraft takes quickest crew trip to International Space Station</a></strong></p>

<p>The four-member SpaceX Crew-2 consists of two NASA astronauts, mission commander Shane Kimbrough and pilot Megan McArthur, along with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and fellow mission specialist Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency.</p>

<p>After docking with the space station, they will join the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts who arrived in November, and cosmonauts carried to the orbiting outpost aboard a&nbsp;Soyuz&nbsp;MS-18 spacecraft.</p>

<p>The newly arrived Crew-2 are to remain in orbit six months, while Crew-1 is due to return to earth by early May.</p>

<p>Dmitry Rogozin said in a <a href="https://www.roscosmos.ru/30252/">post</a>&nbsp;on Facebook that&nbsp;''flights to the International Space Station are unstable.''</p>

<p>However, he added, Roscosmos will ''confirm its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of joint use of the International Space Station.''</p>

<p>''There was an urgent need for them (NASA) to find insurance and send their man on our ship, to make sure their segment on the space station isn't left unattended. The talk of swapping seats has nothing to do with this at all,''&nbsp;he clarified, noting that the agreement was made with Axiom Space, a NASA contractor and private space company which has plans to eventually sell human spaceflight experiences to tourists who want to visit the ISS.</p>

<p>Despite its former Soviet glory, Russia's space sector has suffered greatly in recent years from a lack of financing and corruption.</p>

<p>Moscow and Washington are collaborating in the space sector -- one of the few areas of cooperation left between the Cold War rivals.</p>

<p>However, Russia did not sign the US-led Artemis Accord last year for countries that want to participate in a lunar exploration scheme spearheaded by NASA.</p>

<p>Under the Artemis programme announced during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024.</p>

<p>In another blow to Russia's space reputation,&nbsp;Roscosmos&nbsp;last year lost its monopoly for manned flights to the International Space Station (ISS) after the first successful mission of the US company Space X.</p>

<p>Elon Musk's SpaceX has become a key player in the modern space race and has announced plans to fly several members of the public to the Moon in 2023 on a trip bankrolled by a Japanese millionaire.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A SpaceX Starship prototype exploded after landing in Texas in March,after climbing to an altitude of six miles (10 kilometres). The test flight was part of the company's ambitious project to take people to Mars.</p>


The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.

The chief of Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin on Friday said that American astronauts from NASA will use the country's Soyuz rocket to travel to the International Space Station as US technology is ''unreliable.'' The next launch window for a NASA crew to the International Space Station aboard a SpaceX rocket has been pushed to April 20. The flight marks only the second full-fledged space station crew-rotation mission launched aboard a private company's spacecraft - a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tipped with the Crew Dragon capsule it will carry into orbit. Also see: Russia's Soyuz spacecraft takes quickest crew trip to International Space Station The four-member SpaceX Crew-2 consists of two NASA astronauts, mission commander Shane Kimbrough and pilot Megan McArthur, along with Japanese astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and fellow mission specialist Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency. After docking with the space station, they will join the four SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts who arrived in November, and cosmonauts carried to the orbiting outpost aboard a Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft. The newly arrived Crew-2 are to remain in orbit six months, while Crew-1 is due to return to earth by early May. Dmitry Rogozin said in a post on Facebook that ''flights to the International Space Station are unstable.'' However, he added, Roscosmos will ''confirm its commitment to joint agreements and the spirit of joint use of the International Space Station.'' ''There was an urgent need for them (NASA) to find insurance and send their man on our ship, to make sure their segment on the space station isn't left unattended. The talk of swapping seats has nothing to do with this at all,'' he clarified, noting that the agreement was made with Axiom Space, a NASA contractor and private space company which has plans to eventually sell human spaceflight experiences to tourists who want to visit the ISS. Despite its former Soviet glory, Russia's space sector has suffered greatly in recent years from a lack of financing and corruption. Moscow and Washington are collaborating in the space sector -- one of the few areas of cooperation left between the Cold War rivals. However, Russia did not sign the US-led Artemis Accord last year for countries that want to participate in a lunar exploration scheme spearheaded by NASA. Under the Artemis programme announced during the tenure of former US President Donald Trump, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon by 2024. In another blow to Russia's space reputation, Roscosmos last year lost its monopoly for manned flights to the International Space Station (ISS) after the first successful mission of the US company Space X. Elon Musk's SpaceX has become a key player in the modern space race and has announced plans to fly several members of the public to the Moon in 2023 on a trip bankrolled by a Japanese millionaire. A SpaceX Starship prototype exploded after landing in Texas in March,after climbing to an altitude of six miles (10 kilometres). The test flight was part of the company's ambitious project to take people to Mars.

Russian space agency chief calls US technology 'unstable' to reach International Space Station

<p>According to <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-technology/us-varsities-to-develop-lunar-power-tech-for-nasa-369187"><strong>NASA</strong></a>, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">👨🏿‍🚀 It’s spacewalk season on the <a href="https://twitter.com/Space_Station?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Space_Station</a>! 👨🏻‍🚀<br />
<br />
Join us LIVE on March 13 to watch <a href="https://twitter.com/AstroVicGlover?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AstroVicGlover</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Astro_illini?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Astro_illini</a> complete upgrades outside the orbital lab while working ~254 miles above Earth.<br />
<br />
Coverage starts at 6am ET. Get the details: <a href="https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO">https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO</a> <a href="https://t.co/xsqRRRwfbW">pic.twitter.com/xsqRRRwfbW</a></p>
— NASA (@NASA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1369443892211376128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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<p>Hopkins began harvesting<strong> Amara mustard </strong>and <strong>extra dwarf pak choi</strong> plants for the Veg-03 botany study, the space agency informed even as "Noguchi watered fast-growing plants used for traditional medicine and food flavouring for the Asian Herb investigation."</p>

<p><strong>Watch:</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-russia-and-china-want-to-build-a-space-station-on-the-moon-369535/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>"NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins’ enthusiasm for learning to grow plants in space has proven fruitful for the agency’s <strong>Vegetable Production System </strong>(Veggie)," the agency said in its blog.</p>

<p>The <strong>Expedition 64</strong> crew member had arrived at the ISS in November last year aboard <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/nasas-perseverance-to-study-turkeys-lake-salda-samples-similar-to-jezero-crater-369120">NASA’s </a>SpaceX Crew-1 for a six-month science mission. Hopkins initiated two experiments - VEG-03I which involved the first successful plant transplants in space and VEG-03J which featured the use of new seed film developed at NASA’s Florida centre.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins are set to spacewalk together to work on the station’s <strong>cooling system</strong> and communications gear. The duo will spend at least six-and-a-half-hour during their spacewalk working on the venting and relocating ammonia lines.</p>

<p>"Hopkins and Glover were joined by Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday afternoon for a review of this weekend’s spacewalk procedures," the space agency informed.</p>


According to NASA, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks.

According to NASA, its astronauts are set for the third spacewalk at the International Space Station(ISS) on Saturday as Michael Hopkins and Glover spent some time on "space gardening" tasks. 👨🏿‍🚀 It’s spacewalk season on the @Space_Station! 👨🏻‍🚀 Join us LIVE on March 13 to watch @AstroVicGlover and @Astro_illini complete upgrades outside the orbital lab while working ~254 miles above Earth. Coverage starts at 6am ET. Get the details: https://t.co/qMygv8YgcO pic.twitter.com/xsqRRRwfbW — NASA (@NASA) March 10, 2021 × Hopkins began harvesting Amara mustard and extra dwarf pak choi plants for the Veg-03 botany study, the space agency informed even as "Noguchi watered fast-growing plants used for traditional medicine and food flavouring for the Asian Herb investigation." Watch: "NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins’ enthusiasm for learning to grow plants in space has proven fruitful for the agency’s Vegetable Production System (Veggie)," the agency said in its blog. The Expedition 64 crew member had arrived at the ISS in November last year aboard NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 for a six-month science mission. Hopkins initiated two experiments - VEG-03I which involved the first successful plant transplants in space and VEG-03J which featured the use of new seed film developed at NASA’s Florida centre. Meanwhile, astronauts Victor Glover and Michael Hopkins are set to spacewalk together to work on the station’s cooling system and communications gear. The duo will spend at least six-and-a-half-hour during their spacewalk working on the venting and relocating ammonia lines. "Hopkins and Glover were joined by Flight Engineers Kate Rubins and Soichi Noguchi on Tuesday afternoon for a review of this weekend’s spacewalk procedures," the space agency informed.

NASA astronauts harvest Amara mustard & extra dwarf pak choi in space

<p>The&nbsp;National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Elon Musk's SpaceX are going to launch the&nbsp;second Commercial Crew Rotation Mission to International Space Station.</p>

<p>NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission will carry astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the space station.</p>

<p>The mission is scheduled to lift off no earlier than April 20 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.</p>

<p><strong>Also see|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/nasa-vs-musks-spacex-race-to-put-american-boots-on-mars-365406#american-boots-on-the-red-planet-365388">NASA vs Musk's SpaceX: Race to put American boots on Mars</a></strong></p>

<p>The crew is scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, spending several months conducting science and maintenance before the four astronauts return to Earth in fall 2021.</p>

<p>NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight completed in 2020 was the final demonstration flight of the Crew Dragon and was followed by NASA completing the certification of the Crew Dragon system ahead of the Crew-1 mission.</p>

<p>All four astronauts were assigned to the Crew-2 mission in July 2020 and began working and training on SpaceX’s next-generation human spacecraft and for their long-duration stay aboard the space station.</p>

<p><strong>Also read| <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/spacex-announces-first-commercial-astronaut-mission-to-orbit-earth-360776">SpaceX announces first commercial astronaut mission to orbit Earth</a></strong></p>

<p>Lifting off from Launch Pad 39A on a Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon will accelerate its four passengers to approximately 17,500 mph and put it on an intercept course with the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 that will be used to launch this mission uses the same booster as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, marking the first time a flight-proven booster will be used for a crewed launch.</p>

<p>Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will monitor a series of automatic manoeuvres that will guide the Crew-2 astronauts to their new home in orbit. After a predetermined time in orbit driven by the launch date, Crew Dragon will be in a position to rendezvous and dock with the space station. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously with the ability for astronauts aboard the spacecraft to take control and pilot manually, if necessary.</p>

<p>After successfully docking, the astronauts of Crew-2 will be welcomed aboard the station by the Expedition 65 crew, including the Crew-1 astronauts still onboard. The space station’s crew size will again expand to seven people, increasing the amount of crew time available for research.</p>

<p>The Crew Dragon being used for this flight will remain docked to the station for the full length of a long-duration space station expedition, lasting approximately six months. It is the same Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed “Endeavour,” that astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken flew to the space station for their historic Demo-2 mission. The Crew-2 astronauts will spend their time aboard the International Space Station conducting new and exciting scientific research in areas, such as medical technology, human health, and materials to benefit life on Earth.</p>

<p>Crew members will test the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile computing device in the space environment. They also will conduct a variety of tissue engineering investigations, ranging from studies of bone, cardiovascular, muscle and liver health. An experiment from retail store Target will study cotton growth in microgravity to help identify more robust cotton varieties that require less water and pesticide use.</p>

<p>During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-2 will see cargo spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman Cygnus and the SpaceX cargo Dragon. They will conduct a series of spacewalks to install new solar arrays, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts.</p>

<p>At the conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the four astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. After splashdown just off Florida’s coast, a SpaceX recovery vessel will pick up the crew and bring them back to shore to board a plane for return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.</p>

<p>The Crew-2 mission continues the efforts of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to restore and maintain American leadership in human spaceflight. Regular, long-duration commercial crew rotation missions enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface.</p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Elon Musk's SpaceX are going to launch the second Commercial Crew Rotation Mission to International Space Station.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration and Elon Musk's SpaceX are going to launch the second Commercial Crew Rotation Mission to International Space Station. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission will carry astronauts Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet aboard a Crew Dragon spacecraft launching atop a Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the space station. The mission is scheduled to lift off no earlier than April 20 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Also see| NASA vs Musk's SpaceX: Race to put American boots on Mars The crew is scheduled for a long-duration stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, spending several months conducting science and maintenance before the four astronauts return to Earth in fall 2021. NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight completed in 2020 was the final demonstration flight of the Crew Dragon and was followed by NASA completing the certification of the Crew Dragon system ahead of the Crew-1 mission. All four astronauts were assigned to the Crew-2 mission in July 2020 and began working and training on SpaceX’s next-generation human spacecraft and for their long-duration stay aboard the space station. Also read| SpaceX announces first commercial astronaut mission to orbit Earth Lifting off from Launch Pad 39A on a Falcon 9 rocket, Crew Dragon will accelerate its four passengers to approximately 17,500 mph and put it on an intercept course with the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 that will be used to launch this mission uses the same booster as NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1, marking the first time a flight-proven booster will be used for a crewed launch. Once in orbit, the crew and SpaceX mission control will monitor a series of automatic manoeuvres that will guide the Crew-2 astronauts to their new home in orbit. After a predetermined time in orbit driven by the launch date, Crew Dragon will be in a position to rendezvous and dock with the space station. The spacecraft is designed to dock autonomously with the ability for astronauts aboard the spacecraft to take control and pilot manually, if necessary. After successfully docking, the astronauts of Crew-2 will be welcomed aboard the station by the Expedition 65 crew, including the Crew-1 astronauts still onboard. The space station’s crew size will again expand to seven people, increasing the amount of crew time available for research. The Crew Dragon being used for this flight will remain docked to the station for the full length of a long-duration space station expedition, lasting approximately six months. It is the same Crew Dragon capsule, dubbed “Endeavour,” that astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken flew to the space station for their historic Demo-2 mission. The Crew-2 astronauts will spend their time aboard the International Space Station conducting new and exciting scientific research in areas, such as medical technology, human health, and materials to benefit life on Earth. Crew members will test the Butterfly IQ Ultrasound, a portable ultrasound device used in conjunction with a mobile computing device in the space environment. They also will conduct a variety of tissue engineering investigations, ranging from studies of bone, cardiovascular, muscle and liver health. An experiment from retail store Target will study cotton growth in microgravity to help identify more robust cotton varieties that require less water and pesticide use. During their stay on the orbiting laboratory, astronauts of Crew-2 will see cargo spacecraft including the Northrop Grumman Cygnus and the SpaceX cargo Dragon. They will conduct a series of spacewalks to install new solar arrays, increasing the station’s total available power from 160 kilowatts to up to 215 kilowatts. At the conclusion of the mission, Crew Dragon will autonomously undock with the four astronauts on board, depart the space station and re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere. After splashdown just off Florida’s coast, a SpaceX recovery vessel will pick up the crew and bring them back to shore to board a plane for return to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Crew-2 mission continues the efforts of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program to restore and maintain American leadership in human spaceflight. Regular, long-duration commercial crew rotation missions enable NASA to continue the important research and technology investigations taking place onboard the station. Such research benefits people on Earth and lays the groundwork for future exploration of the Moon and Mars starting with the agency’s Artemis program, which will land the first woman and the next man on the lunar surface.

SpaceX, NASA to launch second Commercial Crew Rotation Mission to International Space Station

<p>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released stunning images of&nbsp;numerous gold prospecting pits in eastern Peru.</p>

<p>The pictures&nbsp;captured by a crew member of Expedition 64 at&nbsp;the International Space Station (ISS) shows&nbsp;Amazon rivers and&nbsp;pits, usually hidden from an astronaut’s view by cloud cover or outside the Sun’s&nbsp;glint point, stand out brilliantly in this image due to the reflected sunlight.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The river and the pits cut through the otherwise unbroken Amazon rainforest in Peru’s Madre de Dios state.</p>

<p>In this very wet climate, the prospecting pits appear as hundreds of tightly packed water-filled basins. Likely dug by independent miners, each pit is surrounded by de-vegetated areas of muddy soil.</p>

<p>These deforested tracts follow the courses of ancient rivers that deposited sediments, including gold.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Peru is the sixth-largest producer of gold in the world, and Madre de Dios is home to one of the largest independent gold mining industries in the world. Mining is the&nbsp;main cause of deforestation&nbsp;in the region, and it also can cause mercury pollution from the gold-extraction process.</p>

<p>Yet tens of thousands of people earn their living from this unregistered mining.</p>

<p>The small town of Nueva Arequipa is just visible along the&nbsp;Southern Interoceanic Highway. Inaugurated in 2011, the highway, is the only road connection between Brazil and Peru. It was intended to stimulate trade and tourism, but due to the great expansion of surface prospecting,&nbsp;deforestation may be the larger result&nbsp;of the highway. Some areas in the state are protected from mining, such as the Tambopata National Reserve.</p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released stunning images of numerous gold prospecting pits in eastern Peru. The pictures captured by a crew member of Expedition 64 at the International Space Station (ISS) shows Amazon rivers and pits, usually hidden from an astronaut’s view by cloud cover or outside the Sun’s glint point, stand out brilliantly in this image due to the reflected sunlight.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released stunning images of numerous gold prospecting pits in eastern Peru. The pictures captured by a crew member of Expedition 64 at the International Space Station (ISS) shows Amazon rivers and pits, usually hidden from an astronaut’s view by cloud cover or outside the Sun’s glint point, stand out brilliantly in this image due to the reflected sunlight. The river and the pits cut through the otherwise unbroken Amazon rainforest in Peru’s Madre de Dios state. In this very wet climate, the prospecting pits appear as hundreds of tightly packed water-filled basins. Likely dug by independent miners, each pit is surrounded by de-vegetated areas of muddy soil. These deforested tracts follow the courses of ancient rivers that deposited sediments, including gold. Peru is the sixth-largest producer of gold in the world, and Madre de Dios is home to one of the largest independent gold mining industries in the world. Mining is the main cause of deforestation in the region, and it also can cause mercury pollution from the gold-extraction process. Yet tens of thousands of people earn their living from this unregistered mining. The small town of Nueva Arequipa is just visible along the Southern Interoceanic Highway. Inaugurated in 2011, the highway, is the only road connection between Brazil and Peru. It was intended to stimulate trade and tourism, but due to the great expansion of surface prospecting, deforestation may be the larger result of the highway. Some areas in the state are protected from mining, such as the Tambopata National Reserve.

NASA releases stunning photo of 'gold' Peruvian Amazon rivers

<p>In a&nbsp;breakthrough for space plant research, first plant transplant has taken&nbsp;place in the International Space Station's&nbsp;Vegetable Production System (Veggie)&nbsp;facility.</p>

<p>NASA researches crop production in space because plants can provide nutrients to astronaut crews on long-duration missions, such as a mission to&nbsp;Mars.</p>

<p>NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, an&nbsp;Expedition 64 crew member,&nbsp;who arrived to the station for a six-month science mission aboard the SpaceX&nbsp;Crew-1&nbsp;mission, tended&nbsp;different varieties of mustards and lettuces in&nbsp;VEG-03I.</p>

<p>He noticed the mustards were growing fine in their special “pillows” containing clay-based growth media and fertilizer.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Two plant pillows containing ‘Outredgeous’ Red Romaine and ‘Dragoon’ lettuce seeds were germinating slowly, growing well behind the other plants. However,&nbsp;with input from Veggie program scientists at Kennedy, the astronaut transplanted extra sprouts from the thriving plant pillows into two of the struggling pillows.</p>

<p>The transplants – ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Extra Dwarf’ pak choi – are surviving and growing along with the donor kale and pak choi. The remaining red romaine lettuce and “Wasabi” mustard in the experiment are also ready for harvest.</p>

<p>“This experiment is just really amazing; it shows the skill of the astronauts, the care that they take to do things, and also the differences that you see in microgravity,” Veggie Program Plant Scientist Gioia Massa said. “Fluids behave very differently in space than on the ground. The behaviour of fluids – in this circumstance – seems to have helped the plants.”</p>

<p>“We’re used to microgravity working against us in the fluids/physics department, making growing plants in space very difficult,” Matt Romeyn, VEG-03I science lead said. “So to have an exception like this, where microgravity appears to be helpful and the plants are growing better than on Earth … that’s astonishing.”</p>


In a breakthrough for space plant research, first plant transplant has taken place in the International Space Station's Vegetable Production System (Veggie) facility.

In a breakthrough for space plant research, first plant transplant has taken place in the International Space Station's Vegetable Production System (Veggie) facility. NASA researches crop production in space because plants can provide nutrients to astronaut crews on long-duration missions, such as a mission to Mars. NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins, an Expedition 64 crew member, who arrived to the station for a six-month science mission aboard the SpaceX Crew-1 mission, tended different varieties of mustards and lettuces in VEG-03I. He noticed the mustards were growing fine in their special “pillows” containing clay-based growth media and fertilizer. Two plant pillows containing ‘Outredgeous’ Red Romaine and ‘Dragoon’ lettuce seeds were germinating slowly, growing well behind the other plants. However, with input from Veggie program scientists at Kennedy, the astronaut transplanted extra sprouts from the thriving plant pillows into two of the struggling pillows. The transplants – ‘Red Russian’ kale and ‘Extra Dwarf’ pak choi – are surviving and growing along with the donor kale and pak choi. The remaining red romaine lettuce and “Wasabi” mustard in the experiment are also ready for harvest. “This experiment is just really amazing; it shows the skill of the astronauts, the care that they take to do things, and also the differences that you see in microgravity,” Veggie Program Plant Scientist Gioia Massa said. “Fluids behave very differently in space than on the ground. The behaviour of fluids – in this circumstance – seems to have helped the plants.” “We’re used to microgravity working against us in the fluids/physics department, making growing plants in space very difficult,” Matt Romeyn, VEG-03I science lead said. “So to have an exception like this, where microgravity appears to be helpful and the plants are growing better than on Earth … that’s astonishing.”

'Breakthrough': First plant transplant takes place in International Space Station

<p>The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured the satellite image of the&nbsp;Himalayan mountains, Delhi's city lights from space.</p>

<p>The&nbsp;long-exposure image also shows orange airglow of atmospheric particles reacting to solar radiation.⁣</p>

<p>NASA took to social networking site Instagram to share the image of the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains&nbsp;taken by a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS).</p>

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<p>The Himalayan mountain range has some of the highest peaks on Earth, including Mount Everest, located at the border between Nepal and China.</p>

<p>Since being shared the post has garnered over a million likes and four thousand comments all gushing about the phenomenal shot.</p>


The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured the satellite image of the Himalayan mountains, Delhi's city lights from space. The long-exposure image also shows orange airglow of atmospheric particles reacting to solar radiation.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has captured the satellite image of the Himalayan mountains, Delhi's city lights from space. The long-exposure image also shows orange airglow of atmospheric particles reacting to solar radiation.⁣ NASA took to social networking site Instagram to share the image of the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains taken by a crew member aboard the International Space Station (ISS). View this post on Instagram A post shared by NASA (@nasa) The Himalayan mountain range has some of the highest peaks on Earth, including Mount Everest, located at the border between Nepal and China. Since being shared the post has garnered over a million likes and four thousand comments all gushing about the phenomenal shot.

Watch: NASA captures Himalayan mountains, Delhi's city lights from space

<p>Four astronauts carried into orbit by a SpaceX Crew Dragon boarded the International Space Station on Tuesday.</p>

<p>The "Resilience" spacecraft docked autonomously -- a process known as "soft capture" --&nbsp;with the space station some 260 miles (400 kilometers) above the Midwestern US state of Ohio at 11:01pm on Monday (0401 GMT Tuesday), completing a 27.5-hour journey.</p>

<p>This is the second astronaut mission for SpaceX. But it's the first time Elon Musk's company is delivering a crew for a full half-year station stay.</p>

<p>The crew is comprised of three Americans -- Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker -- and Japan's Soichi Noguchi. They will remain at the orbiting lab until their replacements arrive on another Dragon in April.</p>

<p>The crew members each floated in zero gravity through a hatch and onto the ISS, where they were cheered and embraced by the station's three crew members.</p>

<p>The four astronauts named their capsule "Resilience" to provide hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for the whole world. They broadcast a tour of their capsule Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls and storage areas.</p>

<p>Earlier, mission commander Hopkins gave pilot Glover his "gold pin," a NASA tradition when an astronaut first crosses the 100-kilometer Karman line marking the official boundary of space.</p>

<p>Glover is the first Black astronaut to make an extended stay at the ISS, while Noguchi is the first non-American to fly to orbit on a private spaceship. The crew joins two Russians and one American aboard the station, and will stay for six months.</p>

<p>Along the way, there was a problem with the cabin temperature control system, but it was quickly solved.</p>

<p>SpaceX briefly transmitted live images from inside the capsule showing the astronauts in their seats, something neither the Russians nor the Americans had done before.</p>

<p>SpaceX is scheduled to launch two more crewed flights for NASA in 2021, including one in the spring, and four cargo refueling missions over the next 15 months.</p>

<p>The Crew Dragon capsule earlier this week became the first spacecraft to be certified by NASA since the Space Shuttle nearly 40 years ago. Its launch vehicle is a reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.</p>

<p>NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing after shuttering the checkered Space Shuttle program in 2011, which failed in its main objectives of making space travel affordable and safe.</p>

<p>The agency will have spent more than $8 billion on the Commercial Crew program by 2024, with the hope that the private sector can take care of NASA's needs in "low Earth orbit" so it is freed up to focus on return missions to the Moon and then on to Mars.</p>

<p>SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, leapfrogged its much older rival Boeing, whose program floundered after a failed test of its uncrewed Starliner last year.&nbsp;</p>


Four astronauts carried into orbit by a SpaceX Crew Dragon boarded the International Space Station on Tuesday. The "Resilience" spacecraft docked autonomously -- a process known as "soft capture" -- with the space station some 260 miles (400 kilometers) above the Midwestern US state of Ohio at 11:01pm on Monday (0401 GMT Tuesday), completing a 27.

Four astronauts carried into orbit by a SpaceX Crew Dragon boarded the International Space Station on Tuesday. The "Resilience" spacecraft docked autonomously -- a process known as "soft capture" -- with the space station some 260 miles (400 kilometers) above the Midwestern US state of Ohio at 11:01pm on Monday (0401 GMT Tuesday), completing a 27.5-hour journey. This is the second astronaut mission for SpaceX. But it's the first time Elon Musk's company is delivering a crew for a full half-year station stay. The crew is comprised of three Americans -- Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover and Shannon Walker -- and Japan's Soichi Noguchi. They will remain at the orbiting lab until their replacements arrive on another Dragon in April. The crew members each floated in zero gravity through a hatch and onto the ISS, where they were cheered and embraced by the station's three crew members. The four astronauts named their capsule "Resilience" to provide hope and inspiration during an especially difficult year for the whole world. They broadcast a tour of their capsule Monday, showing off the touchscreen controls and storage areas. Earlier, mission commander Hopkins gave pilot Glover his "gold pin," a NASA tradition when an astronaut first crosses the 100-kilometer Karman line marking the official boundary of space. Glover is the first Black astronaut to make an extended stay at the ISS, while Noguchi is the first non-American to fly to orbit on a private spaceship. The crew joins two Russians and one American aboard the station, and will stay for six months. Along the way, there was a problem with the cabin temperature control system, but it was quickly solved. SpaceX briefly transmitted live images from inside the capsule showing the astronauts in their seats, something neither the Russians nor the Americans had done before. SpaceX is scheduled to launch two more crewed flights for NASA in 2021, including one in the spring, and four cargo refueling missions over the next 15 months. The Crew Dragon capsule earlier this week became the first spacecraft to be certified by NASA since the Space Shuttle nearly 40 years ago. Its launch vehicle is a reusable SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. NASA turned to SpaceX and Boeing after shuttering the checkered Space Shuttle program in 2011, which failed in its main objectives of making space travel affordable and safe. The agency will have spent more than $8 billion on the Commercial Crew program by 2024, with the hope that the private sector can take care of NASA's needs in "low Earth orbit" so it is freed up to focus on return missions to the Moon and then on to Mars. SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, leapfrogged its much older rival Boeing, whose program floundered after a failed test of its uncrewed Starliner last year.

Astronauts board International Space Station from SpaceX capsule

On Monday, SpaceX and NASA made history by successfully launching a four-member team for the International Space Station. The launch event was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife as well as NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

News Alert: SpaceX-NASA makes history, successfully launches first operational crew mission

A SpaceX spacecraft carrying four astronauts soared into outer space Sunday.

Your Story: Four astronauts take off aboard Crew Dragon bound for ISS

<p>Elon Musk's rocket company&nbsp;SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday.</p>

<p>It is&nbsp;the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia. &nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/spacexs-envisioned-machinery-will-not-only-take-us-to-mars-but-reduce-travel-time-on-earth-tremendously-306615">SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously!</a></strong></p>

<p>NASA on Tuesday officially certified as safe the Crew Dragon capsule developed for regular astronaut transportation by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk that carried two astronauts to the ISS in May and back to Earth again in August without major incident.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"I'm extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The mission, named CREW-1, will deliver four of the seven individuals from Expedition 64 to the ISS: NASA space travelers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, just as Japanese space explorer Soichi Noguchi. Endeavor 64 is the term for this 64th gathering of individuals to possess and chip away at the ISS long haul.</p>

<p>Take-off is planned for 7:49 pm Saturday (0049 GMT Sunday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and they are expected to arrive at the ISS eight hours later, at 0920 GMT Sunday.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/spacex-launches-third-batch-of-mini-satellites-into-orbit-272623">SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit</a></strong></p>

<p>The mission marks a culmination for SpaceX, setting it up to be NASA's favored,&nbsp;and so far most reliable, transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's Starliner capsule, which has been held up in testing and is not expected to be ready before next year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>SpaceX has been operating space station re-supplying flights with the cargo version of the Dragon since 2012.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"For the next 15 months, we will fly seven crew and cargo Dragon missions for NASA," SpaceX head of crewed flights Benji Reed said during a phone call Tuesday.&nbsp;</p>

<p>"That means that (from December) starting with Crew-1, there will be a continuous presence of SpaceX Dragons in orbit."</p>

<p>The next crewed mission is expected to blast off at the end of March 2021, carrying one European, one Japanese and two American crew members.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Elon Musk's organisation has dispatched two individuals into space to date: NASA space explorers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who rode to the International Space Station May 30 on board a Crew Dragon container mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket. That experimental drill, named DEMO-2, denoted the primary ever business manned dispatch, and the principal dispatch from American soil since the finish of the Space Shuttle program in 2011.</p>

<p>In any case, it was an experimental drill, with only two space explorers on board, enduring only 64 days with the vast majority of that time in zero-gravity spent on the International Space Station (ISS). On Nov. 14, if all works out as expected, four space explorers will take a Crew Dragon to the ISS and stay on the space station for a half year. It will check the start of the period of commonsense business spaceflight.&nbsp;</p>


Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday. It is the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia.

Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX is set to launch its first fully-crewed bound for the International Space Station on Saturday. It is the program's first six-month routine mission since the United States resumed crewed space flight in May after nine years of reliance on Russia. Also read: SpaceX's envisioned machinery will not only take us to Mars, but reduce travel time on Earth tremendously! NASA on Tuesday officially certified as safe the Crew Dragon capsule developed for regular astronaut transportation by SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk that carried two astronauts to the ISS in May and back to Earth again in August without major incident. "I'm extremely proud to say we are returning regular human spaceflight launches to American soil on an American rocket and spacecraft," NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said. The mission, named CREW-1, will deliver four of the seven individuals from Expedition 64 to the ISS: NASA space travelers Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, just as Japanese space explorer Soichi Noguchi. Endeavor 64 is the term for this 64th gathering of individuals to possess and chip away at the ISS long haul. Take-off is planned for 7:49 pm Saturday (0049 GMT Sunday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida and they are expected to arrive at the ISS eight hours later, at 0920 GMT Sunday. Also read: SpaceX launches third batch of mini-satellites into orbit The mission marks a culmination for SpaceX, setting it up to be NASA's favored, and so far most reliable, transportation provider as the agency waits on Boeing's Starliner capsule, which has been held up in testing and is not expected to be ready before next year. SpaceX has been operating space station re-supplying flights with the cargo version of the Dragon since 2012. "For the next 15 months, we will fly seven crew and cargo Dragon missions for NASA," SpaceX head of crewed flights Benji Reed said during a phone call Tuesday. "That means that (from December) starting with Crew-1, there will be a continuous presence of SpaceX Dragons in orbit." The next crewed mission is expected to blast off at the end of March 2021, carrying one European, one Japanese and two American crew members. Elon Musk's organisation has dispatched two individuals into space to date: NASA space explorers Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken, who rode to the International Space Station May 30 on board a Crew Dragon container mounted on a Falcon 9 rocket. That experimental drill, named DEMO-2, denoted the primary ever business manned dispatch, and the principal dispatch from American soil since the finish of the Space Shuttle program in 2011. In any case, it was an experimental drill, with only two space explorers on board, enduring only 64 days with the vast majority of that time in zero-gravity spent on the International Space Station (ISS). On Nov. 14, if all works out as expected, four space explorers will take a Crew Dragon to the ISS and stay on the space station for a half year. It will check the start of the period of commonsense business spaceflight.

'Another big leap': SpaceX set to launch first fully-crewed ISS mission

<p>For the International Space Station, Leroy Chiao was, in a sense, there before the beginning.</p>

<p>In October 2000, he was one of seven astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery, which brought pieces of the nascent space station to orbit. Construction had begun a couple of years earlier. But no one was living there yet.</p>

<p>Much of the work on Chiao’s flight was done outside the space station, during spacewalks. But the astronauts also got to go inside briefly.</p>

<p>“It had that new-car smell,” Chiao recalled.</p>

<p>It was a runt of a space station then. The habitable portion consisted of just three modules, not the 16 orbiting today. But it was ready for people to move in.</p>

<p>Discovery undocked on Oct. 20 and returned to Earth. Eleven days later, three astronauts — William Shepherd of NASA and two Russians, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko — blasted off in a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.</p>

<p>On Nov. 2, 2000, they docked at the space station and began their 4 1/2-month stay in orbit.</p>

<p>Humans have been living off the planet ever since.</p>

<p>Monday is the 20th anniversary of continuous occupation of the International Space Station. The project was pitched as post-Cold War space cooperation between the United States and Russia, although for many its cost — well above $100 billion — made it a poster child of inefficient government megaprojects.</p>

<p>In the past decade, however, the station has, somewhat unexpectedly, turned into the linchpin for spurring capitalism in space, potentially leading to new industries and the possibility that more people will head to orbit.</p>

<p>Research conducted on the space station has yet to discover a cure for cancer or osteoporosis. And it has not generated a technological breakthrough that would transform life on Earth. But it has given NASA and other space agencies the knowledge and experience of how to build complex machinery in space, and insight into how microgravity affects the human body.</p>

<p>“The whole thing is an experiment of, Can humans live in space for long periods of time, operate in this challenging environment, and do it safely, do it successfully?” said Scott Kelly, one of the space station’s most prominent residents, who spent nearly a year in orbit, beginning in March 2015. “If that’s one of your main objectives of the program, I think it has been a great success.”</p>

<p><strong>Ashes of the Cold War</strong></p>

<p>An orbiting space station has long been seen as a steppingstone to the rest of the solar system. In the afterglow of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, a task force led by Vice President Spiro Agnew recommended ambitious follow-up space goals like a reusable space shuttle and a space station with the aim of sending astronauts to Mars as soon as the 1980s.</p>

<p>President Richard Nixon, trying to rein in the federal budget, gave NASA the go-ahead only for the shuttle.</p>

<p>The upper stage of one of the Saturn 5 rockets from one canceled moon mission was turned into Skylab, a space station for three NASA missions in 1973 and 1974. But it had crashed back to Earth by the time the space shuttles began flying in 1981.</p>

<p>In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced plans to build a space station he later christened Freedom. But after years of designs and redesigns, no piece of Freedom was ever built. In June 1993, the House of Representatives narrowly voted to keep it going.</p>

<p>That year, the Clinton administration was in the process of transforming Freedom into the International Space Station. And in September 1993, Russia, which had decades of experience operating the Salyut and Mir outposts in orbit, signed on as a partner. The member nations of the European Space Agency as well as Canada and Japan also took part.</p>

<p>“The International Space Station came out of the ashes of the Cold War,” said Jeffrey Manber, chief executive of Nanoracks, a company that has found a profitable business taking commercial payloads to the space station.</p>

<p><strong>Houston, We Have No Problem</strong></p>

<p>The first module, Zarya, built by Russia but financed by NASA, launched in November 1998. A couple of weeks later, the space shuttle Endeavour brought up Unity, the first American-built piece, which connects the Russian- and NASA-led segments. A Russian module, Zvezda, launched in July 2000.</p>

<p>Those were the ones that were there when Shepherd, Krikalev and Gidzenko set up home. “Through the whole flight, there wasn’t really a typical day,” Shepherd said.</p>

<p>The 20-year streak of humans in space did not begin grandly.</p>

<p>“The initial two or three weeks was fairly cramped, because the station had to be kind of opened up gradually,” said Shepherd, a former member of the Navy SEALs who served as the commander of the first crew. “We could not turn everything on and go everywhere in the station initially.”</p>

<p>They set up systems such as scrubbers to keep carbon dioxide levels from building up, stowed cargo, attached components brought up by space shuttles, fixed things that broke and even ran a few experiments.</p>

<p>By the time the three astronauts returned to Earth in March 2001, Shepherd said, “the conditions on the space station, I thought, were actually pretty good — we were comfortable.”</p>

<p><strong>Beyond the Pioneers</strong></p>

<p>It was another decade before construction on the International Space Station was considered complete, with a lull of more than two years when the space shuttles were grounded after the loss of Columbia in 2003.</p>

<p>“All the terrible catastrophes for the shuttle meant that all of us, Americans and Russians, we had a long period of just maintaining the station,” said Pavel Vinogradov, a Russian astronaut who reached the station in 2006 when it was operating with a skeleton crew of two in what he called “survival mode.”</p>

<p>But when the shuttles were cleared to fly again, progress on construction resumed.</p>

<p>“I would tell you, looking back on it, it went way, way better than we could have ever hoped,” said Michael T. Suffredini, who served as NASA’s space station program manager for a decade, from 2005 to 2015.</p>

<p>That does not mean everything always went smoothly. Computers crashed, cooling systems failed, leaks popped up and the toilet broke.</p>

<p>In 2007, a particularly dire mishap almost crippled the station.</p>

<p>As astronauts were trying to unfurl a 112-foot solar array, it ripped. “That was pretty exciting because we didn’t have a replacement for it,” Suffredini said.</p>

<p>One solution would have been to jettison the damaged panel. But without any spares available, the station would be power-starved for years.</p>

<p>Engineers improvised a solution that repaired the tear and allowed the panel to be fully extended. Using materials on the station, astronauts made what were nicknamed “cuff links” — lengths of wires with connecting tabs at both ends. They were installed during a spacewalk by a NASA astronaut, Scott Parazynski, that lasted more than seven hours.</p>

<p>Peggy Whitson’s three trips to the space station pushed her to the record for the most cumulative time in space by an American: 665 days. Across that time, she experienced the station’s evolution from a construction site to a premier orbiting laboratory where astronauts could spend more time tending to experiments.</p>

<p>The station is to remain in orbit until at least 2024, and Suffredini is now looking to apply what has been learned to commercial space stations. He is president and chief executive of Axiom Space, a Houston company that NASA selected in January to build a commercial module to add to the International Space Station.</p>

<p>When the current space station is retired, the Axiom module would become the core of an Axiom space station. “Our whole company is founded on that premise that we can do it a lot less expensively,” Suffredini said.</p>

<p>Nanoracks, Manber’s company, is also developing a concept for a commercial outpost that would operate robotically most of the time and thus more cheaply. It would also enable experiments and manufacturing in space that would be too dangerous if there were people around. Astronauts could periodically visit.</p>

<p>Suffredini said the current trajectory of life in orbit followed the path of previous exploration of new territories. “In any government exploration in the history of mankind, you send out a few people that are government funded to go do a relatively risky thing, just to see what’s there,” he said.</p>

<p>If there’s anything of value, the pioneers follow and eventually the settlers. “In order to establish low-Earth orbit,” Suffredini said, “we need to get to the pioneering stage, which is what we’re really doing.”</p>


For the International Space Station, Leroy Chiao was, in a sense, there before the beginning. In October 2000, he was one of seven astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery, which brought pieces of the nascent space station to orbit.

For the International Space Station, Leroy Chiao was, in a sense, there before the beginning. In October 2000, he was one of seven astronauts on the space shuttle Discovery, which brought pieces of the nascent space station to orbit. Construction had begun a couple of years earlier. But no one was living there yet. Much of the work on Chiao’s flight was done outside the space station, during spacewalks. But the astronauts also got to go inside briefly. “It had that new-car smell,” Chiao recalled. It was a runt of a space station then. The habitable portion consisted of just three modules, not the 16 orbiting today. But it was ready for people to move in. Discovery undocked on Oct. 20 and returned to Earth. Eleven days later, three astronauts — William Shepherd of NASA and two Russians, Sergei Krikalev and Yuri Gidzenko — blasted off in a Russian Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. On Nov. 2, 2000, they docked at the space station and began their 4 1/2-month stay in orbit. Humans have been living off the planet ever since. Monday is the 20th anniversary of continuous occupation of the International Space Station. The project was pitched as post-Cold War space cooperation between the United States and Russia, although for many its cost — well above $100 billion — made it a poster child of inefficient government megaprojects. In the past decade, however, the station has, somewhat unexpectedly, turned into the linchpin for spurring capitalism in space, potentially leading to new industries and the possibility that more people will head to orbit. Research conducted on the space station has yet to discover a cure for cancer or osteoporosis. And it has not generated a technological breakthrough that would transform life on Earth. But it has given NASA and other space agencies the knowledge and experience of how to build complex machinery in space, and insight into how microgravity affects the human body. “The whole thing is an experiment of, Can humans live in space for long periods of time, operate in this challenging environment, and do it safely, do it successfully?” said Scott Kelly, one of the space station’s most prominent residents, who spent nearly a year in orbit, beginning in March 2015. “If that’s one of your main objectives of the program, I think it has been a great success.” Ashes of the Cold War An orbiting space station has long been seen as a steppingstone to the rest of the solar system. In the afterglow of the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, a task force led by Vice President Spiro Agnew recommended ambitious follow-up space goals like a reusable space shuttle and a space station with the aim of sending astronauts to Mars as soon as the 1980s. President Richard Nixon, trying to rein in the federal budget, gave NASA the go-ahead only for the shuttle. The upper stage of one of the Saturn 5 rockets from one canceled moon mission was turned into Skylab, a space station for three NASA missions in 1973 and 1974. But it had crashed back to Earth by the time the space shuttles began flying in 1981. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced plans to build a space station he later christened Freedom. But after years of designs and redesigns, no piece of Freedom was ever built. In June 1993, the House of Representatives narrowly voted to keep it going. That year, the Clinton administration was in the process of transforming Freedom into the International Space Station. And in September 1993, Russia, which had decades of experience operating the Salyut and Mir outposts in orbit, signed on as a partner. The member nations of the European Space Agency as well as Canada and Japan also took part. “The International Space Station came out of the ashes of the Cold War,” said Jeffrey Manber, chief executive of Nanoracks, a company that has found a profitable business taking commercial payloads to the space station. Houston, We Have No Problem The first module, Zarya, built by Russia but financed by NASA, launched in November 1998. A couple of weeks later, the space shuttle Endeavour brought up Unity, the first American-built piece, which connects the Russian- and NASA-led segments. A Russian module, Zvezda, launched in July 2000. Those were the ones that were there when Shepherd, Krikalev and Gidzenko set up home. “Through the whole flight, there wasn’t really a typical day,” Shepherd said. The 20-year streak of humans in space did not begin grandly. “The initial two or three weeks was fairly cramped, because the station had to be kind of opened up gradually,” said Shepherd, a former member of the Navy SEALs who served as the commander of the first crew. “We could not turn everything on and go everywhere in the station initially.” They set up systems such as scrubbers to keep carbon dioxide levels from building up, stowed cargo, attached components brought up by space shuttles, fixed things that broke and even ran a few experiments. By the time the three astronauts returned to Earth in March 2001, Shepherd said, “the conditions on the space station, I thought, were actually pretty good — we were comfortable.” Beyond the Pioneers It was another decade before construction on the International Space Station was considered complete, with a lull of more than two years when the space shuttles were grounded after the loss of Columbia in 2003. “All the terrible catastrophes for the shuttle meant that all of us, Americans and Russians, we had a long period of just maintaining the station,” said Pavel Vinogradov, a Russian astronaut who reached the station in 2006 when it was operating with a skeleton crew of two in what he called “survival mode.” But when the shuttles were cleared to fly again, progress on construction resumed. “I would tell you, looking back on it, it went way, way better than we could have ever hoped,” said Michael T. Suffredini, who served as NASA’s space station program manager for a decade, from 2005 to 2015. That does not mean everything always went smoothly. Computers crashed, cooling systems failed, leaks popped up and the toilet broke. In 2007, a particularly dire mishap almost crippled the station. As astronauts were trying to unfurl a 112-foot solar array, it ripped. “That was pretty exciting because we didn’t have a replacement for it,” Suffredini said. One solution would have been to jettison the damaged panel. But without any spares available, the station would be power-starved for years. Engineers improvised a solution that repaired the tear and allowed the panel to be fully extended. Using materials on the station, astronauts made what were nicknamed “cuff links” — lengths of wires with connecting tabs at both ends. They were installed during a spacewalk by a NASA astronaut, Scott Parazynski, that lasted more than seven hours. Peggy Whitson’s three trips to the space station pushed her to the record for the most cumulative time in space by an American: 665 days. Across that time, she experienced the station’s evolution from a construction site to a premier orbiting laboratory where astronauts could spend more time tending to experiments. The station is to remain in orbit until at least 2024, and Suffredini is now looking to apply what has been learned to commercial space stations. He is president and chief executive of Axiom Space, a Houston company that NASA selected in January to build a commercial module to add to the International Space Station. When the current space station is retired, the Axiom module would become the core of an Axiom space station. “Our whole company is founded on that premise that we can do it a lot less expensively,” Suffredini said. Nanoracks, Manber’s company, is also developing a concept for a commercial outpost that would operate robotically most of the time and thus more cheaply. It would also enable experiments and manufacturing in space that would be too dangerous if there were people around. Astronauts could periodically visit. Suffredini said the current trajectory of life in orbit followed the path of previous exploration of new territories. “In any government exploration in the history of mankind, you send out a few people that are government funded to go do a relatively risky thing, just to see what’s there,” he said. If there’s anything of value, the pioneers follow and eventually the settlers. “In order to establish low-Earth orbit,” Suffredini said, “we need to get to the pioneering stage, which is what we’re really doing.”

How the space station became a base to launch humanity’s future

<p>At least she didn't have to wait in line.</p>

<p>A US astronaut cast her ballot from the International Space Station on Thursday, making her voice heard in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/us-election">presidential election</a> despite being 253 miles (408 kilometers) above the Earth.</p>

<p>"From the International Space Station: I voted today," crew member Kate Rubins, who began a six-month stint aboard the orbiting station last week, said on US space agency NASA's Twitter account.</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">From the International Space Station: I voted today<br />
<br />
— Kate Rubins <a href="https://t.co/DRdjwSzXwy">pic.twitter.com/DRdjwSzXwy</a></p>
— NASA Astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts) <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA_Astronauts/status/1319375479669846017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>The post featured a photograph of Rubins, her blonde hair floating in the zero-gravity environment, in front of a white enclosure with a paper sign that reads "ISS voting booth."</p>

<p>Rubins and NASA described the process as a form of absentee voting.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A secure electronic ballot generated by a clerk's office in Harris County, home of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, was sent up via email to the ISS.</p>

<p>Rubins filled out the ballot in the email and it was downlinked and delivered back to the clerk's office.</p>

<p><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-calls-donald-trumps-immigration-policies-criminal-337306"><strong>Also read|&nbsp;US election 2020: Joe Biden calls Donald Trump's immigration policies 'criminal'</strong></a></p>

<p>She is no stranger to the process: Rubins cast her vote from the ISS during the 2016 election. Congress passed legislation in 1997 that made voting from space possible.</p>

<p>"We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space," she said in a video before she and two Russian cosmonauts launched from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14.</p>

<p>"If we can do it from space then I believe folks can do it from the ground too."</p>

<p>Three other American astronauts were also expected to vote from space but their October 31 trip to the ISS was delayed.&nbsp;</p>


At least she didn't have to wait in line. A US astronaut cast her ballot from the International Space Station on Thursday, making her voice heard in the presidential election despite being 253 miles (408 kilometers) above the Earth.

At least she didn't have to wait in line. A US astronaut cast her ballot from the International Space Station on Thursday, making her voice heard in the presidential election despite being 253 miles (408 kilometers) above the Earth. "From the International Space Station: I voted today," crew member Kate Rubins, who began a six-month stint aboard the orbiting station last week, said on US space agency NASA's Twitter account. From the International Space Station: I voted today — Kate Rubins pic.twitter.com/DRdjwSzXwy — NASA Astronauts (@NASA_Astronauts) October 22, 2020 × The post featured a photograph of Rubins, her blonde hair floating in the zero-gravity environment, in front of a white enclosure with a paper sign that reads "ISS voting booth." Rubins and NASA described the process as a form of absentee voting. A secure electronic ballot generated by a clerk's office in Harris County, home of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, was sent up via email to the ISS. Rubins filled out the ballot in the email and it was downlinked and delivered back to the clerk's office. Also read| US election 2020: Joe Biden calls Donald Trump's immigration policies 'criminal' She is no stranger to the process: Rubins cast her vote from the ISS during the 2016 election. Congress passed legislation in 1997 that made voting from space possible. "We consider it an honor to be able to vote from space," she said in a video before she and two Russian cosmonauts launched from the Russian-operated Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14. "If we can do it from space then I believe folks can do it from the ground too." Three other American astronauts were also expected to vote from space but their October 31 trip to the ISS was delayed.

Ultimate absentee ballot: US astronaut votes from space station

<p>The International Space Station&nbsp;(ISS) has been&nbsp;leaking&nbsp;air&nbsp;in above-normal volumes since September 2019.</p>

<p>The crew on the ISS have been searching for the air leak since August, but they finally found it&nbsp;using floating tea leaves which led them towards a scratch near the walls from which air was escaping.</p>

<p>To detect the&nbsp;elusive air leak, a cosmonaut called Anatoly Ivanishin released tea leaves to float freely in the station's Russian segment and let them be their guide.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-reports-non-standard-air-leak-on-space-station-but-theres-no-danger-to-crew-331274">Russia reports 'non-standard' air leak on space station. But there's no danger to crew</a></strong></p>

<p>The crew members sealed the chambers by closing hatches and observed the tea leaves as floated around in microgravity.</p>

<p>Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said in a statement that after analysis and a search for the leak "it was established that the spot is located in the Zvezda (star) service module, which contains scientific equipment."</p>

<p>The leak has been fixed&nbsp;temporarily by patching it with <a href="https://www.vesti.ru/article/2474302?utm_source=yxnews&amp;utm_medium=mobilebile">Kapton tape</a> but it may not hold for long.</p>

<p>Usually,&nbsp;the leak is identified by a machine used to measure the amount of&nbsp;nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in the station.&nbsp;The process is something that has been taught to the crew members during their training and is considered to be in the&nbsp;on-board documentation.</p>

<p>The incident came&nbsp;after astronauts in 2018 found a hole in the wall of a Russian-made Soyuz space capsule docked onto the ISS.</p>


The International Space Station (ISS) has been leaking air in above-normal volumes since September 2019. The crew on the ISS have been searching for the air leak since August, but they finally found it using floating tea leaves which led them towards a scratch near the walls from which air was escaping.

The International Space Station (ISS) has been leaking air in above-normal volumes since September 2019. The crew on the ISS have been searching for the air leak since August, but they finally found it using floating tea leaves which led them towards a scratch near the walls from which air was escaping. To detect the elusive air leak, a cosmonaut called Anatoly Ivanishin released tea leaves to float freely in the station's Russian segment and let them be their guide. Also read: Russia reports 'non-standard' air leak on space station. But there's no danger to crew The crew members sealed the chambers by closing hatches and observed the tea leaves as floated around in microgravity. Russia's space agency, Roscosmos, said in a statement that after analysis and a search for the leak "it was established that the spot is located in the Zvezda (star) service module, which contains scientific equipment." The leak has been fixed temporarily by patching it with Kapton tape but it may not hold for long. Usually, the leak is identified by a machine used to measure the amount of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in the station. The process is something that has been taught to the crew members during their training and is considered to be in the on-board documentation. The incident came after astronauts in 2018 found a hole in the wall of a Russian-made Soyuz space capsule docked onto the ISS.

International Space Station finds elusive air leak using floating tea leaves

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft takes quickest crew trip to International Space Station

<p>A three-person crew has successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, the Russian space agency&nbsp;Roscosmos confirmed.</p>

<p>The manner aircraft&nbsp;SoyuzMS17 successfully docked to the&nbsp;to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. It launched from Baikonur cosmodrome and had&nbsp;Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and&nbsp;NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins on board.</p>

<p>It has become the first spacecraft in the world that&nbsp;made only two orbits around the Earth. This was also the first time ever that a spacecraft took&nbsp;"a record short three hours and three minutes."</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="ru">Есть закрытие крюков! <a href="https://t.co/XzM9coce0b">pic.twitter.com/XzM9coce0b</a></p>
— РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) <a href="https://twitter.com/roscosmos/status/1316301567277047809?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
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<p>Explaining about the mission, the International Space Station tweeted, "The Exp 64 crew will soon board the station to begin a six-month research mission after the hatch opens at about 6:45am ET."</p>

<p>As per reports, this is also being reported as the last Russian flight to carry a US crew member.&nbsp;“We have an incredible partnership,” Rubins said in an interview from Russia's Star City before her flight. “We'll continue to train crews over here and we're going to have cosmonauts come to the Johnson Space Center and train.”</p>

<p>The launch also co-incided with Kathleen Rubins' birthday.</p>


A three-person crew has successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed. The manner aircraft SoyuzMS17 successfully docked to the to the Russian segment of the International Space Station.

A three-person crew has successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday, the Russian space agency Roscosmos confirmed. The manner aircraft SoyuzMS17 successfully docked to the to the Russian segment of the International Space Station. It launched from Baikonur cosmodrome and had Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and NASA astronaut Kathleen Rubins on board. It has become the first spacecraft in the world that made only two orbits around the Earth. This was also the first time ever that a spacecraft took "a record short three hours and three minutes." Есть закрытие крюков! pic.twitter.com/XzM9coce0b — РОСКОСМОС (@roscosmos) October 14, 2020 × Explaining about the mission, the International Space Station tweeted, "The Exp 64 crew will soon board the station to begin a six-month research mission after the hatch opens at about 6:45am ET." As per reports, this is also being reported as the last Russian flight to carry a US crew member. “We have an incredible partnership,” Rubins said in an interview from Russia's Star City before her flight. “We'll continue to train crews over here and we're going to have cosmonauts come to the Johnson Space Center and train.” The launch also co-incided with Kathleen Rubins' birthday.

Three astronauts dock at ISS within three hours of launch

<p>A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) -- carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla -- arrived at the International Space Station for ‘rendezvous and capture’ on October 5.</p>

<p>Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space, has had the spacecraft named after her for her key contributions to human spaceflight.</p>

<p>The SS Kalpana Chawla, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 09:38 pm EDT.</p>

<p>On the NG-14 mission, the SS Kalpana Chawla will deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station.</p>

<p>Research flying aboard the Cygnus includes the test of a biologic drug that could be used for the treatment of leukemia, a plant growth study that will cultivate radishes as a model for future crops in space, a compact toilet for astronauts to use on deep-space exploration missions and a 360-degree virtual reality camera that will be used to film during a spacewalk for an immersive cinematic production.</p>

<p>Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company said that this mission is named after Chawla in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 Northrop Grumman stated that it is proud to celebrate the life of Kalpana Chawla and her dream of flying through the air and in space.</p>

<p>"It is the company's tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight," said Northrop Grumman.</p>

<p>Born in Haryana, India, Chawla moved to the United States to earn her master's and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and the University of Colorado in 1988, respectively.</p>

<p>She then began her career at NASA, conducting research in fluid dynamics at the Ames Research Center in California.</p>

<p>After becoming a naturalised US citizen, Chawla applied for and became a NASA astronaut as a member of "The Flying Escargot," NASA's 15th class of trainees. In 1997, she launched on STS-87, a 15-day shuttle mission that was dedicated to the science flying as part of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4).</p>

<p>Chawla's second spaceflight, STS-107, came to a tragic end on February 1, 2003, following 16 days of conducting science onboard the space shuttle Columbia. A small piece of foam that struck the orbiter's left wing during launch created a hole that went undetected during the mission.</p>

<p>Upon Columbia's return to Earth, hot plasma entered the wing, tearing it apart, and the resulting loss of control led to the vehicle disintegrating and the death of the crew.</p>


A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) -- carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla -- arrived at the International Space Station for ‘rendezvous and capture’ on October 5.

A commercial cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) -- carrying the name of deceased NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla -- arrived at the International Space Station for ‘rendezvous and capture’ on October 5. Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian-born woman to enter space, has had the spacecraft named after her for her key contributions to human spaceflight. The SS Kalpana Chawla, a Northrop Grumman Cygnus, was launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 09:38 pm EDT. On the NG-14 mission, the SS Kalpana Chawla will deliver approximately 3,630 kilograms of cargo to the station. Research flying aboard the Cygnus includes the test of a biologic drug that could be used for the treatment of leukemia, a plant growth study that will cultivate radishes as a model for future crops in space, a compact toilet for astronauts to use on deep-space exploration missions and a 360-degree virtual reality camera that will be used to film during a spacewalk for an immersive cinematic production. Northrop Grumman, an American global aerospace and defence technology company said that this mission is named after Chawla in memory of the mission specialist who died with her six crewmates aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 2003 Northrop Grumman stated that it is proud to celebrate the life of Kalpana Chawla and her dream of flying through the air and in space. "It is the company's tradition to name each Cygnus after an individual who has played a pivotal role in human spaceflight," said Northrop Grumman. Born in Haryana, India, Chawla moved to the United States to earn her master's and doctorate degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas in 1984 and the University of Colorado in 1988, respectively. She then began her career at NASA, conducting research in fluid dynamics at the Ames Research Center in California. After becoming a naturalised US citizen, Chawla applied for and became a NASA astronaut as a member of "The Flying Escargot," NASA's 15th class of trainees. In 1997, she launched on STS-87, a 15-day shuttle mission that was dedicated to the science flying as part of the fourth United States Microgravity Payload (USMP-4). Chawla's second spaceflight, STS-107, came to a tragic end on February 1, 2003, following 16 days of conducting science onboard the space shuttle Columbia. A small piece of foam that struck the orbiter's left wing during launch created a hole that went undetected during the mission. Upon Columbia's return to Earth, hot plasma entered the wing, tearing it apart, and the resulting loss of control led to the vehicle disintegrating and the death of the crew.

Cargo spacecraft SS Kalpana Chawla arrives at ISS

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