Vande Hei Discusses Longest Single U.S. Human Space Missionby Ben Evans April 5, 2022 [AS]
Mark Vande Hei works on the Cardinal Muscle experiment in August 2021. Photo Credit: NASALess than a week after wrapping up the longest single space mission ever undertaken by a U.S. astronaut, Mark Vande Hei took time early Tuesday to discuss his record-setting 355-day increment aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Vande Hei returned to Earth on 30 March aboard the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft, shoulder-to-shoulder with Russian cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Pyotr Dubrov. The trio—with Dubrov having also spent 355 days in space with Vande Hei, as Shkaplerov concluded a 176-day mission—alighted on the desolate steppe of south-central Kazakhstan, about 90 miles (150 kilometres) from the remote town of Jezkazgan.
https://www.americaspace.com/2022/04/05/vande-hei-discusses-longest-single-u-s-human-space-mission/SpaceX rolls out Falcon 9 rocket for next NASA crew launchApril 19, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
SpaceX rolls a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon crew spacecraft out of the hangar at pad 39A Tuesday morning. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskySpaceX rolled a reused Falcon 9 booster and a brand new Dragon crew capsule to their launch pad for final tests Tuesday at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a day after the astronauts who will ride the spacecraft to the space station arrived for pre-flight preparations.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/04/19/spacex-rolls-out-falcon-9-rocket-for-next-nasa-crew-launch/Axiom’s private crew gets extra time on space station after landing delayApril 20, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
The 11-person crew currently on-board the International Space Station, including the Ax-1 commercial astronauts wearing blue flight suits. Credit: NASA TV / Spaceflight NowThe four-man crew flying on Axiom’s first private mission to the International Space Station is getting some extra time on the orbiting complex this week. Managers have extended their stay until at least Thursday night due to bad weather in SpaceX’s splashdown zones off the coast of Florida.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/04/20/axioms-private-astronaut-crew-gets-extra-time-on-space-station-after-weather-delays-landing/Next SpaceX crew launch on hold to wait for return of private astronaut missionApril 20, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
Astronauts Jessica Watkins, Bob Hines, Kjell Lindgren, and Samantha Cristoforetti inside the Crew Access Arm at Launch Complex 39A early Wednesday for a dress rehearsal. Credit: SpaceXThe launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the next crew to the International Space Station has been postponed from Saturday, a ripple effect from weather delays in returning a team of commercial astronauts from the outpost back to Earth, NASA officials said Wednesday.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/04/20/crew-4-delayed-to-wait-for-ax-1-return/Astronauts Arrive for Crew-4 Launch to Space Station Saturdayby Mike Killian April 19, 2022 [AS]
NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, all smiles after landing at Kennedy Space Center for their launch to the International Space Station on the Crew-4 mission with SpaceX on April 23. Photo: Jeff Seibert / AmericaSpaceNASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti arrived at Kennedy Space Center yesterday (April 18) for their launch to the International Space Station. Dubbed ’Crew 4’, the mission is set to blast off from pad 39A on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and Falcon 9 rocket on April 23 at 5:26 a.m. EDT.
https://www.americaspace.com/2022/04/19/astronauts-arrive-for-crew-4-launch-to-space-station-saturday/NASA expects decisions on ISS crew swaps by Juneby Jeff Foust — April 26, 2022 [SN]
NASA Administrator BIll Nelson said April 26 he remained confident that Russia would remain a partner on the International Space Station for the long term. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskyWASHINGTON — NASA says it expects to know by June whether a Russian cosmonaut will fly on a Crew Dragon mission in September in exchange for a NASA astronaut flying on a Soyuz, as the agency’s leadership continues to express optimism about long-term cooperation with Russia on the space station.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-expects-decisions-on-iss-crew-swaps-by-june/Falcon 9 launches Crew-4 mission to space stationby Jeff Foust — April 27, 2022 [SN]
A Falcon 9 lifts off April 27 on the Crew-4 mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Aubrey GemignaniWASHINGTON — Four American and European astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after their launch on a Crew Dragon spacecraft April 27, less than two days after another spacecraft returned from the station.
https://spacenews.com/falcon-9-launches-crew-4-mission-to-space-station/Crew-4 arrives at ISSby Jeff Foust — April 28, 2022 [SN]
A SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft docks with the ISS April 27, less than 16 hours after liftoff from Florida. Credit: NASA TVWASHINGTON — A Crew Dragon spacecraft docked with the International Space Station with a new set of American and European astronauts April 27.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft Freedom docked with the station at 7:37 p.m. Eastern. Hatches separating the spacecraft and station opened about an hour and a half later.
https://spacenews.com/crew-4-arrives-at-iss/Emirati astronaut to fly long-duration space station missionby Jeff Foust — April 30, 2022 [SN]
Salem AlMarri (seated left), director general of the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre, and Michael Suffredini (seated right), president and CEO of Axiom Space, at a signing ceremony for a contract where Axiom will fly an Emirati astronaut on a commercial crew mission in 2023. Credit: Dubai Media OfficeWASHINGTON — The United Arab Emirates will fly an astronaut on a long-duration mission to the International Space Station through an agreement with Axiom Space.
https://spacenews.com/emirati-astronaut-to-fly-long-duration-space-station-mission/ISS partnership feeling some effects of sanctions on Russiaby Jeff Foust — May 13, 2022 [SN]
While day-to-day operations of the ISS continue without "serious interruptions," there are some impacts for NASA personnel in Russia created by sanctions against the country. Credit: NASAWASHINGTON — While operations of the International Space Station continue without “serious interruptions,” sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine are starting to have an effect on some activities, NASA’s safety advisers said.
At a May 12 meeting of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), members reiterated past comments by agency officials that the day-to-day operations of the ISS have continued despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February and subsequent sanctions imposed on Russia by the other countries in the ISS partnership.
https://spacenews.com/iss-partnership-feeling-some-effects-of-sanctions-on-russia/NASA plans to make Starliner crew assignments this summerby Jeff Foust — May 23, 2022 [SN]
NASA astronauts (from left) Butch Wilmore, Mike Fincke and Suni Williams said before the launch of OFT-2 that they were training together on Starliner systems as a “cadre” and could be assigned to the vehicle crewed test flight or a later mission. Credit: NASA/Joel KowskyWASHINGTON — As Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner prepares to return from its brief trip to the International Space Station, NASA officials say they’ll wait until this summer to determine the schedule for the vehicle’s first crewed flight and the astronauts who will fly it.
NASA said May 23 it would proceed with plans to have Starliner return to earth May 25, six days after its launch on the Orbital Flight Test (OFT) 2 uncrewed mission. The astronauts on the ISS will close Starliner’s hatch May 24, with undocking about 24 hours later at 2:36 p.m. Eastern May 25. That would allow Starliner to land at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico at 6:49 p.m. Eastern that day.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-plans-to-make-starliner-crew-assignments-this-summer/SpaceX swapping heat shield for next crew flight due to ‘manufacturing defect’May 24, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
SpaceX’s Dragon Endurance spacecraft after splashdown May 6, with its heat shield displayed toward the camera. Credit: NASA/Aubrey GemignaniSpaceX’s next crew mission to the International Space Station, set for launch in September, will fly with a different heat shield structure than originally planned after a composite substrate failed in acceptance testing due to a “manufacturing defect,” NASA said Tuesday.
The heat shield’s 13-foot-diameter (4-meter) composite structure — located at the bottom, blunt end of the Dragon capsule — is detachable and interchangeable between the reusable spacecraft in SpaceX’s Dragon fleet. SpaceX installs thermal protection tiles on the composite structure to protect the spacecraft from the searing heat of atmospheric re-entry at the end of each mission.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/05/24/spacex-swapping-heat-shield-for-next-crew-mission-due-to-manufacturing-defect/SpaceX replacing heat shield on upcoming Crew Dragon mission after failed testby Jeff Foust — May 26, 2022 [SN]
A Crew Dragon spacecraft just before splashdown on the Ax-1 mission in April. NASA says that, contrary to a published report, there was no excessive wear to its heat shield. Credit: Axiom SpaceWASHINGTON — SpaceX will replace the heat shield on the next Crew Dragon spacecraft flying to the International Space Station after it failed inspections, but NASA says there is no risk of a similar problem for the spacecraft currently at the station.
In a May 24 statement to reporters, NASA said that a heat shield structure that SpaceX built for the Crew-5 mission to the station, slated to launch in early September, failed an acceptance test earlier this month and will not be used on that spacecraft.
https://spacenews.com/spacex-replacing-heat-shield-on-upcoming-crew-dragon-mission-after-failed-test/NASA to buy five additional Crew Dragon flightsby Jeff Foust — June 2, 2022 [SN]
The Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour, with the Crew-2 astronauts on board, seen from the International Space Station shortly after undocking Nov. 8. Credit: NASAWASHINGTON — NASA is planning to purchase five more Crew Dragon missions to the International Space Station from SpaceX, a move the agency says is needed to ensure long-term access to the station.
In a procurement notice published June 1, NASA announced its intent to issue a sole-source modification of its existing Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities, or CCtCap, contract with SpaceX to add five missions to the station later this decade.
https://spacenews.com/nasa-to-buy-five-additional-crew-dragon-flights/Russian Soyuz rocket launches with space station cargo freighterJune 3, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
A Soyuz-2.1a rocket stands on the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan after rollout Tuesday. Credit: RoscosmosRussia’s Progress MS-20 cargo freighter lifted off Friday on a fast-track, three-and-a-half hour rendezvous with the International Space Station to deliver around three tons of fuel, food, and supplies for the lab’s seven-person crew.
The Progress supply ship launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 5:32 a.m. EDT (0932 GMT) aboard a Soyuz-2.1a rocket. Russian ground crews rolled the Soyuz booster to the launch pad at Site 31 early Tuesday, then raised it vertical into liftoff position over the pad’s cavernous flame trench.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/06/03/soyuz-progress-ms-20-launch-docking/Cargo Dragon mission postponed to investigate potential propellant leakby Jeff Foust — June 6, 2022 [SN]
A cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station earlier this year, with several of its Draco thrusters visible. Credit: NASAWASHINGTON — NASA and SpaceX have postponed the launch of a cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station after discovering a potential propellant leak in the spacecraft’s thrusters.
In a statement late June 6, NASA said the launch of the CRS-25 mission, which had been scheduled for June 10, would be postponed after detecting “elevated vapor readings” of monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) in a portion of the spacecraft’s Draco thruster system. The cause of the elevated reading is under investigation.
https://spacenews.com/cargo-dragon-mission-postponed-to-investigate-potential-propellant-leak/SpaceX cargo mission grounded to investigate possible fuel leakJune 6, 2022 Stephen Clark EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated June 7 with no “no earlier than” launch date of June 28. [SN]
A SpaceX Dragon cargo ship approaches the International Space Station on Aug. 30, 2021. Credit: NASASpaceX has postponed this week’s planned launch of a Dragon cargo mission to the International Space Station to investigate a possible leak detected during fueling of the spacecraft at Cape Canaveral, pushing the flight until no earlier than late June.
The Dragon spacecraft was scheduled for launch Friday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Officials have not set a new target launch date for the SpaceX resupply mission, but a NASA spokesperson confirmed it would not occur Friday or Saturday.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/06/06/spacex-cargo-mission-grounded-to-investigate-possible-fuel-leak/NASA to purchase five more Dragon crew missions from SpaceXJune 10, 2022 Stephen Clark [SFN]
SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom spacecraft is seen docked at the International Space Station in this May 21 photo. Credit: NASANASA says it plans to buy five more crew rotation missions on SpaceX’s fleet of Dragon spaceships, bringing SpaceX’s contract with the space agency to 14 operational astronaut launches, likely enough to keep the International Space Station staffed through 2030.
The five additional Dragon missions help ensure NASA maintains two independent crew transpiration providers, with SpaceX and Boeing alternating astronaut missions every six months once the agency certifies Boeing’s Starliner capsule for the job, the agency said in a June 1 statement.
https://spaceflightnow.com/2022/06/10/nasa-to-purchase-five-more-dragon-crew-missions-from-spacex/GAO finds CASIS not making full use of advisory committeeby Jeff Foust — June 13, 2022 [SN]
The GAO found that CASIS was not making full use of an advisory committee established after an independent review of its management of the ISS national lab. Credit: NASAARCADIA, Calif. — The nonprofit that runs the national laboratory portion of the International Space Station is not making full use of the advisory group established after an independent review of the organization.
A report published by the Government Accountability Office June 7 said that the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which manages the resources of the ISS designated as a national laboratory, was not providing its User Advisory Committee (UAC) with information on how the lab was being used or seeking input from the committee on resource allocations.
https://spacenews.com/gao-finds-casis-not-making-full-use-of-advisory-committee/Cargo Dragon launch rescheduled for July after identifying hydrazine leakby Jeff Foust — June 14, 2022 [SN]
A cargo Dragon spacecraft docked to the International Space Station earlier this year, with several of its Draco thrusters visible. Credit: NASAARCADIA, Calif. — A SpaceX cargo Dragon mission to the International Space Station will now launch no earlier than July 11, a delay of more than a month after engineers identified the source of elevated hydrazine readings in the spacecraft.
In a statement late June 13, NASA said that agency officials met with SpaceX to discuss the status of the investigation into elevated vapor readings of monomethyl hydrazine (MMH) detected earlier this month after the spacecraft was fueled ahead of a launch then planned for June 10. The readings, the sign of a potential leak in the vehicle’s Draco thrusters, prompted a launch delay announced June 6.
https://spacenews.com/cargo-dragon-launch-rescheduled-for-july-after-identifying-hydrazine-leak/