Page 6 - Astronauts

China's three astronauts return to earth after six months in space

China's Shenzhou-17 spacecraft returned to Earth Tuesday, carrying three astronauts who have completed a six-month mission aboard the country's orbiting space station. The three, Tang Hongbo, Tang Shengjie and Jiang Xinlin, landed at the Dongfeng site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the Gobi desert shortly before 6:00 pm (1000 GMT). It comes roughly four days after the Shenzhou-18 mission docked with the station with their three-member replacement crew onboard. China built its own space station after being excluded from the International Space Station, largely because of US concerns over the Chinese military's total control of the space programme amid a sharpening competition in technology between the two geopolitical rivals. This year, the Chinese station is slated for two cargo spacecraft missions and two manned spaceflight missions. China's ambitious space programme aims to put astronauts on the moon by 2030, as well as bring back samples from Mars around the

IAF guarding skies, making paramount contribution to space programme: Prez

President Droupadi Murmu on Friday said the Indian Air Force's contribution to the nation's service is etched in "golden letters" and it is not only guarding the skies but also making a paramount contribution to the country's space programme. In her address at a ceremony held at the Hindan Air Force Station to award President's Standard and Colours to four units of the IAF, Murmu said she believed that more and more women will sign up for the force and serve the nation and emphasised that increased representation of women in the force will make it "more inclusive". She also extended her wishes to women on International Women's Day. The President is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. The IAF's contribution to the nation's service in protecting the country is "etched in golden letters", she said. "It is a matter of joy that the IAF is not only guarding our skies but also making a paramount contribution to India's space programme," the President said. The President said the

Nasa wants astronauts for its Moon, Mars missions: Check how to apply

The search for the astronauts is part of NASA's mission - Orion spacecraft atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will carry humans for missions to the Moon and eventually to Mars

4 new astronauts head to the International Space Station for a 6-month stay

Four astronauts headed to the International Space Station on Sunday where they will oversee the arrivals of two new rocketships during their half-year stint. SpaceX's Falcon rocket blasted off from Kennedy Space Centre, carrying NASA's Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Russia's Alexander Grebenkin. The astronauts should reach the orbiting lab on Tuesday. They will replace a crew from the US, Denmark, Japan and Russia, who have been there since August. When are you getting here already? space station commander Andreas Mogensen asked via X, formerly Twitter, after three days of delay due to high wind. There was almost another postponement Sunday night. A small crack in the seal of the SpaceX capsule's hatch prompted a last-minute flurry of reviews, but it was deemed safe for the whole mission. The new crew's six-month stay includes the arrival of two rocketships ordered by NASA. Boeing's new Starliner capsule with test pilots is due in late April. A month or tw

India's ambitious plans on space station on track: Chandrayaan-3 director

India's ambitious plans to have its own space station by 2035 and have an Indian astronaut on the moon by 2040 are progressing on track, Project Director of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission, P Veeramuthuvel said on Saturday. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ISRO chairman have already said that by 2040 we should have an Indian astronaut on the moon and also to have our space station by 2035. These are very ambitious plans that ISRO has taken up and we are working towards that, he told PTI here. On ISRO's success in bringing back the Propulsion Module (PM) of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft to Earth's orbit, Veeramuthuvel said, as far as Chandrayaan-3 is concerned, the lander and rover mission successfully completed one lunar day. We successfully completed the hop on experiment wherein we used the same engine where we landed and again we operated the payload for one earth day, the ISRO scientist added. The propulsion module which was supposed to orbit around the moon met all the mission ..

First Indian astronaut on moon by 2040, says Isro Chairman Somanath

Four test pilots from the Indian Air Force have been selected as astronaut designates for the mission and they are undergoing mission-specific training at the ATF in Bengaluru

Isro chief S Somanath expresses wish for more female representation

Acknowledging his spiritual inclination, the Isro chairman engaged in prayers on Vijayadashami day

3 astronauts return to Earth after a year, Rubio sets US space record

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts returned to Earth on Wednesday after being stuck in space for just over a year. American Frank Rubio set a record for the longest US spaceflight a result of the extended stay. The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule that was rushed up as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station. What should have been a 180-day mission turned into a 371-day stay. Rubio spent more than two weeks longer in space than Mark Vande Hei, who held NASA's previous endurance record for a single spaceflight. Russia holds the world record of 437 days, set in the mid-1990s. The Soyuz capsule that brought Rubio and cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin back was a replacement launched in February. Russian engineers suspect a piece of space junk pierced the radiator of their original capsule late last year, midway through what shoul

India, US begin talks to send Indian astronaut to the ISS next year

India and the US on Friday said they have started talks to put in place a strategic framework for human space flight by year-end as they plan to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024. US President Joe Biden also congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 at the south polar region of the Moon and the success of Aditya-L1 solar mission. "Determined to deepen our partnership in outer space exploration, ISRO and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have commenced discussions on modalities, capacity building, and training for mounting a joint effort to the International Space Station in 2024, and are continuing efforts to finalise a strategic framework for human space flight cooperation by the end of 2023," said a joint statement issued after the 52-minute talks between the two leaders. During Modi's visit to the US in June, Biden had announced India and the US were collaborating to send an astrona

4 astronauts return to Earth in SpaceX capsule to wrap up 6-month mission

Four astronauts returned to Earth early Monday after a six-month stay at the International Space Station. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the Atlantic off the Florida coast. Returning were NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren Woody Hoburg, Russia's Andrei Fedyaev and the United Arab Emirates' Sultan al-Neyadi, t he first person from the Arab world to spend an extended time in orbit. Before departing the space station, they said they were craving hot showers, steaming cups of coffee and the ocean air since arriving in March. Their homecoming was delayed a day because of poor weather at the splashdown locations. SpaceX launched their replacements over a week ago. Another crew switch will occur later this month with the long-awaited homecoming of two Russians and one American who have been up there an entire year. Their stay was doubled after their Soyuz capsule leaked all of its coolant and a new craft had to be launched. Between crew swaps, the space station is home to se

India, US plan to send Indian astronaut to ISS in 2024: President Biden

India and the US are collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the international space station in 2024, US President Joe Biden said here on Thursday after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing the media after bilateral talks with Modi, Biden said India and the US were collaborating in nearly every human endeavour in delivering progress across the board. "From designing new ways to diagnosing and treating new illnesses like cancer and diabetes to collaboration on human space flight, including on sending an Indian astronaut to the international space station in 2024," Biden said with Modi by his side. Modi also said that India has decided to sign the Artemis Accords and taken a great leap forward. "We have decided to join the Artemis Accords. We have taken a giant leap in our space cooperation. In short, I would say even the sky is not the limit for cooperation with the US, Modi said. Grounded in the Outer Space Treaty of 1967 (OST), the Artemis Accords are a ..

3 Chinese astronauts return home safely after six-month stint in space

Three Chinese astronauts on Sunday returned safely to Earth on board the Shenzhou-15 manned spaceship after completing their six-month mission to build China's space station. Shenzhou-15's return capsule carrying astronauts Fei Junlong, Deng Qingming and Zhang Lu, touched down at the Dongfeng landing site in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at 6:33 am (Beijing Time), China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) said here. The three completed their six-month space station mission, it announced. The astronauts were in good shape, and the Shenzhou-15 manned mission was a success, the agency announced. The three were replaced by three other astronauts, including China's first civilian who successfully flew to the space station on May 30. The new set of astronauts will stay in the space station for five months. Once ready, China will be the only country to own a space station as the International Space Station (ISS) of Russia is a collaborative project of several countries. The ISS

China successfully launches new manned spaceship with 1st civilian on board

China on Tuesday successfully sent three astronauts including its first civilian into orbit as it launched the Shenzhou-16 manned mission to its space station for its second crew rotation, signalling another leap forward for the country's ambitious space programme. The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China at 9:31 AM (Beijing Time), according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA). About 10 minutes after the launch, Shenzhou-16 separated from the rocket and entered its designated orbit. The crew members are in good shape and the launch is a complete success, the CMSA declared. Hours later the spaceship successfully docked with the space station's core module about 400km above the ground, the CMSA said. After that, it conducted a fast-automated rendezvous and docked with the radial port of its core module Tianhe. The astronaut trio aboard Shenzhou-16 will then enter the Tianhe module and the three ..

China to send astronauts to Moon by 2030 as space race intensifies

China on Monday announced plans to send a manned mission to the moon by 2030 for lunar scientific exploration, amid its deepening space race with the West. The announcement was made by Lin Xiqiang, Deputy Director of the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), as China is preparing to send a third set of astronauts to its space station on Tuesday. Li told the media at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in Inner Mongolia ahead of the launch of the spacecraft that takes the three astronauts to the space station called Tiangong that China has recently initiated under the lunar landing phase of its manned lunar exploration programme. The overall goal is to achieve China's first manned landing on the moon by 2030 and carry out lunar scientific exploration and related technological experiments, he was quoted as saying by the state-run Xinhua news agency. China's manned lunar mission came as the US space agency NASA aims to send a second manned mission to the moon by 2025 to explore the south

Meet GiGi- The teddy bear sent to space on SpaceX's chartered flight

Along with the other four astronauts, the GiGi teddy bear was sent to the space station by Axiom Space's Ax-2 Mission

UAE's Sultan Al-Neyadi becomes first Arab astronaut to complete spacewalk

UAE astronaut Sultan Al-Neyadi has become the first Arab to undertake a spacewalk during Expedition 69 venturing out of the International Space Station (ISS) and completing his spacewalk. The historic spacewalk lasted 7.01 hours in the vacuum of space on the starboard side of the ISS's truss structure, accomplishing two key objectives. One of the objectives of the Extravehicular Activity (EVA), undertaken by Al-Neyadi along with NASA Flight Engineer Stephen Bowen, was to work on a series of preparatory tasks which involved routing power cables, which was successfully concluded. These cable works were completed as a precursor to the installation of the Space Station's fourth roll-out solar array, known as the International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Array (iROSA), which is scheduled to be delivered on the upcoming SpaceX Dragon cargo mission. The next objective was to retrieve a crucial Radio Frequency Group (RFG) unit. This communications antenna, or RFG will stay bolted on the .

First crewed flight of Boeing 1st Starliner postponed to July: NASA

NASA wants a bit more time to analyse data about Starliner's various components, such as its parachute system, before putting astronauts on the vehicle, Stich said

Last-minute problem keeps SpaceX rocket, astronauts grounded: Report

Last-minute technical trouble forced SpaceX to call off Monday's attempt to launch four astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA. The countdown was halted with just two minutes remaining until lift-off from Kennedy Space Centre. With just a split second to blast off, there was no time to deal with the problem, which involved the engine ignition system. SpaceX did not immediately say when it would try again. The next attempt could come as early as Tuesday, although poor weather was forecast. Strapped into the capsule atop the Falcon rocket were two NASA astronauts, one Russian cosmonaut and one astronaut from the United Arab Emirates. When informed by SpaceX that the fuel would start to be drained from the rocket, commander Stephen Bowen replied: We'll be sitting here waiting. It was expected to take nearly an hour. Bowen and his crew including the first astronaut from the United Arab Emirates assigned to a months long mission, Sultan al-Neyadi will replace another

Russia to evacuate astronauts from ISS in coming weeks amid emergency

Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitry Petelin together with NASA astronaut Francisco Rubio will return to Earth aboard the Soyuz MS-23 in the next weeks

Nasa astronauts successfully install new roll-out solar array on ISS

NASA astronauts Josh Cassada and Frank Rubio have successfully installed Roll-Out Solar Array on the starboard truss structure of the space station