S.S. John Glenn OA-7 Cygnus berthed to ISS

/
S.S. John Glenn OA-7 Cygnus berthed to ISS

After a four-day cruise to the International Space Station, Orbital ATK’s OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft, named S.S. John Glenn, was captured and berthed to the outpost.

Capture of the 6.4-meter long spacecraft by the station’s robotic Canadarm2 came at 6:05 a.m. EDT (10:05 GMT) April 22, 2017. Expedition 51 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency as well as Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA were at the Robotics Work Station in the Cupola window controlling the arm.

Read More

Progress MS-05 cargo freighter pulls into port at ISS

/
Progress MS-05 cargo freighter pulls into port at ISS

On Feb. 24, 2017, the uncrewed Russian Progress MS-05 resupply spacecraft docked with the International Space Station. The automated link-up with the Pirs docking compartment took place at 3:30 a.m. EST (08:30 GMT) while flying over the south Pacific Ocean.

The Progress docking probe then retracted to pull the cargo ship in closer to allow for the hooks between the two spacecraft to latch. That hard mate took place at 3:36 a.m. EST (08:36 GMT).

Read More

10th Dragon captured at ISS

/
10th Dragon captured at ISS

Twenty-four hours after an aborted rendezvous attempt, SpaceX’s CRS-10 Dragon capsule was captured by the International Space Station’s robotic arm. This second approach to the outpost went by the book.

Capture took place at 5:44 a.m. EST (10:44 GMT) Feb. 23, 2017, while the orbiting laboratory was flying 402 kilometers over the west coast of Australia.

Read More

Dragon rendezvous aborted, next attempt in 24 hours

/
Dragon rendezvous aborted, next attempt in 24 hours

SpaceX’s CRS-10 Dragon capsule will try again tomorrow as its planed Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, rendezvous and berthing attempt with the International Space Station was called off. An onboard computer triggered the abort when it saw an incorrect value in the data about the location of the outpost.

The abort occurred at 3:25 a.m. EST (08:25 GMT) while the spacecraft was 1,200 meters below the ISS.

Read More

Japan's Kounotori 6 re-enters Earth's atmosphere

/
Japan's Kounotori 6 re-enters Earth's atmosphere

Japan’s sixth Kounotori spacecraft, also called the H-II Transfer Vehicle or HTV, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere Feb. 5, 2017, after spending nearly two months in space to resupply the International Space Station and test new technologies.

Re-entry, confirmed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, occurred at 10:06 a.m. EST (15:06 GMT) over the Pacific Ocean. It came just over a week after the spacecraft departed the ISS after spending six weeks attached to the outpost.

Read More

Russian Progress MS-03 departs ISS

/
Russian Progress MS-03 departs ISS

With the undocking of a Russian Progress cargo ship from the International Space Station, only two spacecraft remain at the outpost – a rarity in an era of high visiting vehicle traffic.

Progress MS-03 undocked at 9:25 a.m. EST (14:25 GMT) Jan. 31, 2017, from the Pirs docking compartment on the Earth-facing side of the ISS after spending six months there.

Read More

Japan's Kounotori 6 leaves ISS, readies tether experiment

/
Japan's Kounotori 6 leaves ISS, readies tether experiment

After six weeks attached to the International Space Station, Japan’s Kounotori 6 spacecraft was unberthed and commanded to leave the vicinity of the outpost. It will now spend a week conducting a few stand-alone experiments for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.

A few hours after ground teams commanded the 17.5-meter long robotic Canadarm2 to move the spacecraft, also called the H-II Transfer Vehicle 6, from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module to about 10 meters below the Destiny laboratory to release it.

Read More

Cargo ships, expandables and spacewalks: ISS in 2016

/
Cargo ships, expandables and spacewalks: ISS in 2016

Between cargo ships servicing the outpost and spacewalks to maintain it, 2016 was arguably one of the busiest years for the International Space Station since the end of the space shuttle era.

Probably the most visible event for the space station in 2016 was the yearlong crew – NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko – returning to Earth. They had launched to the outpost on March 27, 2015.

Read More

Japanese Kounotori 6 arrives at ISS

/
Japanese Kounotori 6 arrives at ISS

Japan’s sixth “white stork” arrived at the International Space Station to deliver supplies, experiments, and Christmas gifts for the crew. The Kounotori 6 cargo ship, also called HTV-6, was captured by the outpost’s robotic Canadarm2 at 5:37 a.m. EST (10:37 GMT) Dec. 13, 2016.

Almost three-and-a-half hours later, at 8:57 a.m. EST (13:57 GMT), the cargo ship was berthed to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module at the forward end of the station.

Read More