Starliner's Orbital Flight Test mission 'go' for launch

Starliner's Orbital Flight Test mission 'go' for launch

After years of development, the first orbital flight of Boeing’s Starliner is imminent. This uncrewed test is slated for a week-long trip to the International Space Station.

Starliner’s Orbital Flight Test, or OFT, is expected to take to the skies at 11:36 UTC Dec. 20, 2019, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

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Two cargo spacecraft en route to space station

Two cargo spacecraft en route to space station

Two unpiloted cargo spacecraft are racing to catch up to and rendezvous with the International Space Station after flawless launches on opposite sides of the planet.

At 17:29 UTC Dec. 5, 2019, SpaceX launched its CRS-19 Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. About 16 hours later, at 9:34 UTC Dec. 6, Russia launched its Progress MS-13 freighter atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

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NG-11 Cygnus begins multi-month post-ISS mission

NG-11 Cygnus begins multi-month post-ISS mission

Northrop Grumman’s NG-11 Cygnus departed the International Space Station following its 3.5-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory, beginning a multi-month free-flying secondary mission. Using the robotic Canadarm2, the spacecraft was unberthed Aug 6, 2019, from the Earth-facing port of the Unity module and positioned about 10 meters below the Destiny laboratory module and released to slowly move away from the ISS.

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Progress MS-12 makes fast-track flight to ISS

Progress MS-12 makes fast-track flight to ISS

Two orbits after launching from Kazakhstan, Russia’s Progress MS-12 cargo spacecraft rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station. Inside the freighter is some 2,400 kilograms of hardware and crew supplies bound for the outpost and its six-person Expedition 60 crew.

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CRS-18 Dragon arrives at ISS with new docking adapter

CRS-18 Dragon arrives at ISS with new docking adapter

Two days after threading the needle with weather to launch, SpaceX’s CRS-18 Dragon spacecraft rendezvoused and berthed with the International Space Station. Carrying 2,312 kilograms of cargo, including a new docking adapter for commercial crew spacecraft, the vehicle placed itself about 10 meters beneath the Destiny module before being captured by the robotic Canadarm2.

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CRS-17 Dragon arrives at ISS with cargo, stray cable

CRS-17 Dragon arrives at ISS with cargo, stray cable

SpaceX’s CRS-17 Dragon spacecraft arrived at the International Space Station with fresh supplies and an unexpected cable that was supposed to fall away during launch.

The CRS-17 Dragon spacecraft contains about 2,500 kilograms of crew supplies, equipment and experiments for the six-person Expedition 59 crew.

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Progress MS-11 launches toward ISS on 2-orbit trek

Progress MS-11 launches toward ISS on 2-orbit trek

Russia launched a Soyuz rocket with the latest Progress resupply freighter bound for the International Space Station, docking nearly 3.5 hours later.

Progress MS-11 launched atop a Soyuz 2.1a rocket from site 31 at Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Liftoff took place at 11:01 UTC April 4, 2019, setting the stage for the spacecraft to rendezvous with the outpost just over three hours later.

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Historic Crew Dragon flight concludes with Atlantic splashdown

Historic Crew Dragon flight concludes with Atlantic splashdown

The historic Crew Dragon Demo-1 mission has come to a conclusion with a successful splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean not far from where its mission began six days ago.

Following a five-day mission attached to the International Space Station, the unpiloted Crew Dragon autonomously undocked at 07:32 UTC March 8, 2019, and began moving to a safe distance. The spacecraft left the vicinity of the outpost about 20 minutes later.

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