Human Spaceflight

SpaceX launch date of Crew-12 astronauts to the International Space Station will depend on the outcome of the Artemis 2 wet dress rehearsal and launch attempts.

NASA and SpaceX are proceeding ahead of schedule with their next astronaut launch to the International Space Station, which is currently operating with a skeleton crew.

Seven astronauts lost their lives during the Challenger space shuttle disaster on Jan. 28, 1986. Four decades later, human spaceflight remains a difficult business.

The four astronauts of NASA's Artemis 2 moon mission went into quarantine on Jan. 23, keeping everything on track for a possible launch in early February.

The Artemis 2 moon mission will send a swatch from the famous Wright Flyer, along with a number of other aerospace artifacts, when it launches in the coming weeks.

Artemis 2 is at the launch pad, but several big tests must be performed before it launches as soon as Feb. 6.

A NASA astronaut on the ISS captured the Space Launch System rocket for Artemis 2, a mission that aims to bring four astronauts around the moon as soon as Feb. 6.

The fact that Crew-11 returned to Earth safely despite unprecedented circumstances bodes well for the success of future missions that go farther afield, astronauts said.

Astronaut Suni Williams left NASA late last month after 27 years of service. She spent a total of 608 days in space, more than all but one other American astronaut.

The first emergency operation in the history of China's human spaceflight program ended on Jan. 19 when an uncrewed Shenzhou 20 capsule damaged by a space-junk strike came safely down to Earth.