After months of uncertainty, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, travelling in the SpaceX Dragon capsule, successfully docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday to bring back Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore, who had been stuck there since June 2024.
The NASA-SpaceX mission safely reached orbit, after it was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. This mission is significant as it marks the first human spaceflight to launch from Space Launch Complex-40.
The statement was signed at the NASA headquarters in Washington, DC, on the occasion of talks held between KASA chief Yoon Young-bin and NASA Administrator Bill Nelson in the US capital.
Indian-origin astronaut Sunita Williams has celebrated her 59th birthday -- the second in space.
NASA Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Willmore expressed their desire to vote in the upcoming US presidential elections in November
"The team determined a location, and selected and cored a viable and scientifically valuable rock. We did what we came to do. We will work through this small hiccup with the lighting conditions in the images and remain encouraged that there is sample in this tube,"
The lawsuit, filed with the US Court of Federal Claims, could pause SpaceX's contract
"We stand firm in our belief that there were fundamental issues with NASA's decision, but the GAO wasn't able to address them due to their limited jurisdiction," a Blue Origin spokesperson said in a statement.
Starliner will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. About 30 minutes after launch, Starliner will perform its orbital insertion burn to begin its daylong trip to the space station.
Blue Origin filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office shortly after, claiming that the space agency had not properly reviewed the proposals.
