Latest news with #CrewDragonEndurance
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Pictures: SpaceX Crew-10 launches from Kennedy Space Center
The SpaceX Crew-10 mission launched from Kennedy Space Center on Friday sending a replacement crew to the International Space Station. Riding in the Crew Dragon Endurance making its fourth trip to space were Crew-10 commander and NASA astronaut Anne McClain, fellow NASA astronaut and pilot Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The launch marks the 16th human spaceflight for SpaceX's fleet of four Crew Dragon spacecraft, having now taken 60 people to space. It was the 22nd launch on the Space Coast in 2025 and first with a crew.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX to try again to launch Crew-10 to space station as Starliner astronauts wait
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — SpaceX will try again Friday evening to launch the replacement crew to the International Space Station where the pair of NASA astronauts who flew up last summer on Boeing's Starliner have been waiting for a ride home. A Falcon 9 rocket on the Crew-10 mission is set to lift off from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A at 7:03 p.m. topped with the Crew Dragon Endurance. Flying up are four crew including NASA astronauts Anne McClain commanding the mission, pilot Nichole Ayers, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. If the launch goes up, the quartet are slated to arrive to the ISS at 11:30 p.m. Saturday, which would start the countdown for the Crew-9 mission to return home. On board Crew-9 will be the two Starliner astronauts, Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who arrived to the station on June 6, 2024 for what was supposed to be as short as an eight-day stay. Instead, they have been on board more than nine months. The Starliner suffered thruster failures and helium leaks on its test flight so NASA ultimately opted to send it home without crew leaving its two astronauts on board until they could fly home with the Crew-9 mission that didn't arrive to the station until September. Also heading back home are Crew-9 commander and NASA astronaut Nick Hague as well as Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov. Crew-9 will be departing the station no earlier than Wednesday, although how long the return trip to Earth will be has not been announced by NASA. Some crewed Dragon flights have made the trip home in less than six hours, while others have taken more than a day. For the launch attempt Friday, it comes two days after the first attempt, but an issue with the clamp arm that holds the Falcon 9 rocket upright at the pad forced the delay. It wouldn't let go of the rocket. Ground teams on Thursday completed an inspection of the support hydraulic system used for the arm and were able to flush a suspected pocket of trapped air in the system, according to an update from NASA. 'I am extremely proud of our NASA and SpaceX ground engineers and joint operations teams in quickly identifying and resolving this issue,' said NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich. 'I'm especially proud of the team's systematic approach throughout the countdown, analyzing data and making thoughtful decisions to ensure the integrity of our mission. Their commitment to both excellence and safety is a true testament to the strength of this integrated team.' Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecasts a better than 95% chance for good launch conditions. The first-stage booster flying on this mission is making its second trip to space, and will attempt a recovery landing at nearby Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Landing Zone 1, meaning some parts of Central Florida may hear a sonic boom. This is the fourth trip to space for Crew Dragon Endurance.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX scrubs Crew-10 launch attempt, delaying trip to the space station
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The astronauts left behind on the International Space Station when NASA sent the Boeing Starliner home are expected to return to Earth in the coming days, but will have to wait at least one more day. SpaceX scrubbed a Wednesday night launch attempt from KSC's Launch Pad 39-A because of a hydraulic issue on a clamp arm of the transporter erector apparatus that holds the Falcon 9 rocket up adjacent the launch tower. 'Unfortunately, we had an issue with the clamp arm. It wouldn't have been potentially able to open up fully,' said SpaceX commentator Jessie Anderson. 'So the teams are working through whatever that issue, that root cause of that issue is to make sure that when we do go for launch, those clamp arms will fully open and will clear the way for the (transporter erector) to be able to recline appropriately for liftoff.' The Crew-10 astronauts were sitting in Crew Dragon Endurance atop the rocket with just over 40 minutes to go before the planned launch. If SpaceX can solve the problem at the pad, the crew could come back for another launch attempt Thursday potentially at 7:26 p.m. Eastern time or Friday at 7:03 p.m. But it's not decided yet if NASA and SpaceX can take advantage of those opportunities. 'Sorry, we couldn't get you off today. We'll speak to you soon, and look forward to try it again,' said space mission control as the crew prepared to depart the spacecraft and head back to crew quarters. 'Great working with you today,' said Crew-10 commander Anne McClain. 'Kudos to the whole team, I know it was a lot of work to try to get it to go, but like I said earlier, we'll be ready when the equipment is.' When it does launch, the mission marks the final portion of a long odyssey for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who docked at the space station last June for a planned eight-day stay, and have been there ever since. They could be home as early as Sunday, but NASA won't announce target times until Crew-10 arrives to the station. The pair were stranded by safety concerns with the Starliner, which returned to Earth without crew. Then their extended stay became a focus for President Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, leading to accelerated timing for the Crew-10 mission. Heading to the space station are NASA astronauts McClain and pilot Nichole Ayers, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. The quartet got suited up and made the drive over from KSC's Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building to the pad in a set of black Teslas after 4 p.m. making their way up the launch tower and climbing into their seats by 5 p.m. SpaceX had reported the clamp issue early on, and McClain had reported the crew is 'go for launch.' They're set to arrive less than a day later to the space station, where they will have a two-day handoff with the people they're replacing. That includes the duo that flew up last summer on Boeing Starliner's Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams. The pair arrived June 6, 2024, one day after launching from Cape Canaveral on the first human spaceflight of Boeing's spacecraft. 'Honestly, I'm kind of most looking forward to breaking bread with those guys, talking to them, giving them big hugs,' McClain said. Starliner suffered thruster failures and helium leaks on the way that ultimately led to NASA's decision to send it home without Williams and Wilmore. Instead, they joined the space station crew and were reassigned to fly home with the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. That crew flew up in the Crew Dragon Freedom with two, instead of the normal four astronauts, in September to make room on the ride home for Wilmore and Williams. Now they will join Crew-9 commander and NASA astronaut Nick Hague along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov with a departure as early as Sunday headed for a splashdown off the Florida coast. During a predeparture press conference last week, Williams said the most difficult part of their stay has probably been how their families have had to deal with it. 'It's been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us, you know? We're here. We have a mission. We're just doing what we do every day,' she said. 'Every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun. So I think the hardest part is, you know, having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we're coming back.' The decision to switch capsules and move up the pair's return came shortly after SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced President Trump had tasked him with bringing them home 'as soon as possible.' NASA officials said discussion about the switch, though, was already in play at least a month before the Musk and Trump statements. 'But the president's interests sure added energy to the conversation,' said NASA's Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate. 'It's great to have a president who's interested in what we're doing.' Musk later claimed SpaceX offered to fly up a specific rescue mission, but that was turned down by the Biden administration for political reasons. Bowersox, though, said NASA managers made their recommendation based on the mission needs and capability of Williams and Wilmore. 'We thought the plan that we came up with made a lot of sense, and that, especially for Butch and Suni, we know they're experienced astronauts,' Bowersox said. 'They're great in space. We knew they'd be great additions to the crew and we knew that for most astronauts, spending extra time on orbit is really a gift, and we thought they'd probably enjoy their time there, so we thought it was a good way to go and for a lot of reasons.' Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager, added that a lot of technical requirements were in play such as having the correct size spacesuits and seats for the pair. 'The best option was really the one that we're embarking upon now,' Stich said. 'It really was driven by that in conjunction with Butch and Suni being very experienced crew members.' Wilmore and Williams will have spent 9 1/2 months in space along with the unique experience of having flown on four spacecraft: Starliner and Crew Dragon as well as Russian Soyuz and space shuttle missions. 'We helped put it together. We've been up here seeing it change throughout all these years, do a lot of science up here,' Williams said. 'I think just the fact that we're living up here in this very unique place gives you an amazing perspective, not only, you know, out the window, obviously, but also just on how to solve problems. 'I don't want to lose that spark of inspiration and that perspective when I leave, so I'm going to have to bottle it somehow.' For the Crew-10 quartet, the mission marks the beginning of what is normally about a six-month stay on board, with the Crew-11 mission slated to fly in late summer. They will join Expedition 73 on the station, which has had continued human presence since November 2000. It's McClain and Onishi's second spaceflight while Ayers and Peskov are rookies. Ayers becomes the first of NASA's most-recent class of astronauts, which includes Central Florida native Luke Delaney, to be assigned a spaceflight. 'It's an honor to represent my class and be the first one, but I think that all of us were ready at the same time, and so it could have been any one of us that got picked,' Ayers said. 'There was nothing but love for me when I got announced for this mission, and there has been nothing but love and support from my crewmates and my classmates this entire time training.' McClain said she has been talking more often with Williams and Wilmore. 'We're about to be housemates here in a few days. Their spirits are high,' she said. 'Of course, they're ready to come home, and of course we're ready to launch. But the most important thing is that we do both of those things safely.' She insisted they have the same mentality as she does when it comes to the importance of NASA's mission at the station, calling it significant to scientific development and a proving ground for deep-space exploration. 'All of us take very serious our responsibility to be stewards of the International Space Station,' she said. 'We simply cannot leave it uncrewed or undercrewed for any period of time. 'That is first and foremost on all of our minds when we go is that level of responsibility. And it's certainly foremost on their minds.' Stumping for the station's importance comes adjacent comments from Musk who recently called for it to be deorbited as early as 2027, stating that it was no longer useful. SpaceX and Boeing were both originally contracted to provide taxi service for NASA to the space station as part of the Commercial Crew Program, designed to end reliance on Russia and bring launches back to Florida. Delays have plagued Starliner, though, which is now at least five years behind SpaceX. The launch of Crew-10 marks SpaceX's 16th human spaceflight for its spacecraft since the Demo-2 mission in May 2020. That flight marked the first time U.S. astronauts launched from the U.S. since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. With the space station slated to end service after 2030, time is running out for NASA to certify Starliner so it can have a chance to fly alongside SpaceX for rotational crew missions. 'We'll continue to work for certification toward the end of this year,' Stich said. 'Whatever we do, the Starliner vehicle will be crew capable.' _____
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX launch sets up long-delayed trip home for Boeing Starliner astronauts
The astronauts left behind on the International Space Station when NASA sent the Boeing Starliner home are expected to return to Earth in the coming days. Wednesday's 7:48 p.m. departure of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket topped with a Crew Dragon Endurance spacecraft marks the final portion of a long odyssey for NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who docked at the space station last June for a planned eight-day stay, and have been there ever since. They could be home as early as Sunday, but NASA won't announce target times until Crew-10 arrives to the station. The pair were stranded by safety concerns with the Starliner, which returned to Earth without crew. Then their extended stay became a focus for President Trump and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, leading to accelerated timing for the Crew-10 mission. Space Launch Delta 45's weather squadron forecast a better than 95% chance for good conditions at the launch site Wednesday. The first-stage booster is scheduled for a recovery landing at Cape Canaveral — meaning parts of Central Florida could be in store for sonic booms. Heading to the space station are a pair of NASA astronauts, commander Anne McClain and pilot Nichole Ayers, as well as Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. They're set to arrive less than a day later to the space station where they will have a two-day handoff with the people they're replacing. That includes the duo that flew up last summer on Boeing Starliner's Crew Flight Test, Wilmore and Williams. The pair arrived June 6, 2024, one day after launching from Cape Canaveral on the first human spaceflight of Boeing's spacecraft. 'Honestly, I'm kind of most looking forward to breaking bread with those guys, talking to them, giving them big hugs,' McClain said. Starliner suffered thruster failures and helium leaks on the way that ultimately led to NASA's decision to send it home without Williams and Wilmore. Instead, they joined the space station crew and were reassigned to fly home with the SpaceX Crew-9 mission. That crew flew up in the Crew Dragon Freedom with two, instead of the normal four astronauts, in September to make room on the ride home for Wilmore and Williams. Now they will join Crew-9 commander and NASA astronaut Nick Hague along with Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov with a departure as early as Sunday headed for a splashdown off the Florida coast. During a pre-departure press conference last week, Williams said the most difficult part of their stay has probably been how their families have had to deal with it. 'It's been a roller coaster for them, probably a little bit more so than for us, you know? We're here. We have a mission. We're just doing what we do every day,' she said. 'Every day is interesting because we're up in space and it's a lot of fun. So I think the hardest part is, you know, having the folks on the ground have to not know exactly when we're coming back.' The decision to switch capsules and move up the pair's return came shortly after SpaceX founder Elon Musk announced President Trump had tasked him with bringing them home 'as soon as possible.' NASA officials said discussion about the switch, though, was already in play at least a month before the Musk and Trump statements. 'But the president's interests sure added energy to the conversation,' said NASA's Ken Bowersox, associate administrator of the Space Operations Mission Directorate. 'It's great to have a president who's interested in what we're doing.' Musk later claimed SpaceX offered to fly up a specific rescue mission, but that was turned down by the Biden administration for political reasons. Bowersox, though, said NASA managers made their recommendation based on the mission needs and capability of Williams and Wilmore. 'We thought the plan that we came up with made a lot of sense, and that, especially for Butch and Suni, we know they're experienced astronauts,' Bowersox said. 'They're great in space. We knew they'd be great additions to the crew and we knew that for most astronauts, spending extra time on orbit is really a gift, and we thought they'd probably enjoy their time there, so we thought it was a good way to go and for a lot of reasons.' Steve Stich, NASA Commercial Crew Program manager, added that a lot of technical requirements were in play such as having the correct size spacesuits and seats for the pair. 'The best option was really the one that we're embarking upon now,' Stich said. 'It really was driven by that in conjunction with Butch and Suni being very experienced crew members.' Wilmore and Williams will have spent 9½ months in space along with the unique experience of having flown on four spacecraft: Starliner and Crew Dragon as well as Russian Soyuz and space shuttle missions. 'We helped put it together. We've been up here seeing it change throughout all these years, do a lot of science up here.' Williams said. 'I think just the fact that we're living up here in this very unique place gives you an amazing perspective, not only, you know, out the window, obviously, but also just on how to solve problems. 'I don't want to lose that spark of inspiration and that perspective when I leave, so I'm going to have to bottle it somehow.' For the Crew-10 quartet, the mission marks the beginning of what is normally about a six-month stay on board with the Crew-11 mission slated to fly in late summer. They will join Expedition 73 on the station, which has had continued human presence since November 2000. It's McClain and Onishi's second spaceflight while Ayers and Peskov are rookies. Ayers becomes the first of NASA's most-recent class of astronauts, which includes Central Florida native Luke Delaney, to be assigned a spaceflight. 'It's an honor to represent my class and be the first one, but I think that all of us were ready at the same time, and so it could have been any one of us that got picked,' Ayers said. 'There was nothing but love for me when I got announced for this mission, and there has been nothing but love and support from my crewmates and my classmates this entire time training.' McClain said she has been talking more often with Williams and Wilmore. 'We're about to be housemates here in a few days. Their spirits are high,' she said. 'Of course, they're ready to come home, and of course we're ready to launch. But the most important thing is that we do both of those things safely.' She insisted they have the same mentality as she does when it comes to the importance of NASA's mission at the station, calling it significant to scientific development and a proving ground for deep-space exploration. 'All of us take very serious our responsibility to be stewards of the International Space Station,' she said. 'We simply cannot leave it uncrewed or undercrewed for any period of time. 'That is first and foremost on all of our minds when we go is that level of responsibility. And it's certainly foremost on their minds.' Stumping for the station's importance comes adjacent comments from Musk who recently called for it to be deorbited as early as 2027 stating that it was no longer useful. SpaceX and Boeing were both originally contracted to provide taxi service for NASA to the space station as part of the Commercial Crew Program, designed to end reliance on Russia and bring launches back to Florida. Delays have plagued Starliner, though, which is now at least five years behind SpaceX. The launch of Crew-10 marks SpaceX's 16th human spaceflight for its spacecraft since the Demo-2 mission in May 2020. That flight marked the first time U.S. astronauts launched from the U.S. since the end of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011. With the space station slated to end service after 2030, time is running out for NASA to certify Starliner so it can have a chance to fly alongside SpaceX for rotational crew missions. 'We'll continue to work for certification toward the end of this year,' Stich said. 'Whatever we do the Starliner vehicle will be crew capable.'
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
SpaceX Dragon meets sunrise at launch pad for Crew-10 flight
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Image 1 of 3 Image 2 of 3 Image 3 of 3 A SpaceX rocket, complete with Dragon astronaut capsule, looks stunning in the dawn twilight as the sun rises over its Florida launch pad in this stunning series of photos from the private spaceflight company. These SpaceX photos show its Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon Endurance capsule as they stand atop the launch pad on March 11, just one day before a planned launch of four astonauts on March 12. The rocket will launch NASA's Crew-10 mission to the International Space Station to begin a six-month mission for the astronaut quartet. Flying on the mission will be Crew-10 commander Anne McClain and pilot Nichole Ayers, both of NASA, along with mission specialists Takuya Onishi of Japan and Kirill Peskov of Russia. The upcoming launch will mark the fourth crewed flight for the Dragon spacecraft Endurance, and will feature a used Falcon 9 first-stage booster, which is evident in the soot and wear visible in the photos. SpaceX aims to land the rocket again at a nearby landing pad after liftoff. These photos, provided by SpaceX, appear to have been captured by launch photographer Ben Cooper, who shared the view of Endurance at sunrise on social media. SpaceX will launch the Crew-10 astronaut mission from its pad at Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch pad is historic, and saw some of NASA's most iconic missions, including Apollo 11, which landed the first astronauts on the moon in 1969. NASA's space shuttle program also used the pad for many missions, with SpaceX signing a 20-year lease with NASA for the site in 2014. While we love all things space at launch photography often stands out because of the juxtaposition between the engineering of the rocket and the stark beauty of their surroundings. NASA's Kennedy Space Center sits on Florida's east coast amidst a nature preserve, leading to striking seaside photos as dawn breaks, bathing the rocket in twilight and later the orange glow of the sun. NASA cleared the Crew-10 astronauts for launch on March 7, and Josh Dinner has a great piece on how the mission will serve as the relief crew for two beleaguered astronauts of Crew-9, whose 10-day mission turned into 9 months when their Boeing Starliner capsule returned to Earth without them. They'll now return on SpaceX's Crew-9 Dragon capsule on March 16. Our guide to SpaceX offers a good overview of the company, while our references on Crew Dragon and the Falcon 9 rocket can tell you more about those vehicles.
