NASA

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston--Commander Alan Poindexter, manually flying Discovery from the shuttle's aft flight deck, guided the space plane to a precision docking with the International Space Station early Wednesday after performing a flawless, "radar-failed" rendezvous.

Approaching from directly in front of the space station, Discovery engaged its payload bay docking mechanism with its counterpart on the front end of the space station's forward Harmony module at 3:44 a.m. EDT as the two spacecraft sailed 220 miles above the Caribbean at 5 miles per second.

"Houston and station, capture confirmed," pilot James … Read more

The shuttle Discovery, carrying a seven crew members and 10 tons of supplies and equipment bound for the International Space Station, rocketed into orbit early Monday to kick off a three-spacewalk resupply mission.

With its three hydrogen-fueled main engines throttled up to full power, Discovery's twin solid-fuel boosters ignited with a crackling roar at 6:21 a.m. EDT, instantly pushing the spacecraft away from pad 39A.

Fifteen minutes before liftoff, the space station sailed 220 miles above the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, shining like a brilliant "star" as it streaked away to the northeast.

Discovery'… Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--A Russian Soyuz spacecraft roared to life and rocketed away from its launching pad in Kazakhstan early Friday, carrying two cosmonauts and a NASA astronaut on a two-day flight to the International Space Station.

Soyuz TMA-18 commander Alexander Skvortsov, flight engineer Mikhail Kornienko and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, a shuttle veteran with a doctorate in chemistry, lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome at 12:04 a.m. EDT Friday.

During the climb to space through a cloudless blue sky, television views from inside the capsule showed Skvortsov, seated in the center, flanked by Kornienko on his left … Read more

Outgoing space station commander Jeffrey Williams and Soyuz commander Maxim Suraev settled to a jarring touchdown in "blizzard-like" conditions in Kazakhstan Thursday after an apparently trouble-free descent from the International Space Station.

Suraev, strapped into the Soyuz descent module's center seat, monitored a computer-controlled 4-minute and 16-second rocket firing at 6:33 a.m. EDT, slowing the ship by about 257 mph to drop it out of orbit.

Just before falling into the discernible atmosphere around 7 a.m., the Soyuz TMA-16 spacecraft's three modules separated at an altitude of 87 miles and the central descent … Read more

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.--The shuttle Endeavour came out of the night sky Sunday to make a spectral landing at the Kennedy Space Center, leaving the International Space Station behind in orbit virtually complete, with a new life support module and an observation deck for robot arm operators.

Approaching the spaceport in a steep dive, commander George Zamka guided the shuttle through a sweeping left overhead turn, lined up on runway 15 and swooped to a picture-perfect touchdown at 10:20 p.m. EST. Pilot Terry Virts then released a red-and-white braking parachute and a few moments later, the space … Read more

The space shuttle Endeavour undocked from the International Space Station Friday, leaving behind a new habitation module and observation deck that virtually complete the U.S. segment of the lab complex after more than 11 years of construction.

With pilot Terry Virts at the controls, Endeavour pulled directly away from the station's forward docking port at 7:54 p.m. EST after nine days of joint activity.

"Zambo, it's been good having you, sorry to see you guys leave," station flight engineer Timothy Creamer radioed to shuttle commander George Zamka. "We'll watch and wave.&… Read more

HOUSTON--The Endeavour astronauts cranked open aluminum shutters protecting the windows in the space station's new observation deck early Wednesday, giving the crew inside an "absolutely incredible" view of the Earth 220 miles below.

During the shuttle mission's third and final spacewalk, Robert Behnken and Nicholas Patrick removed insulation blankets from the cupola's seven windows late Tuesday and unbolted launch locks holding the aluminum shutters in place.

Astronauts Terry Virts and Kay Hire, standing by inside the cupola, then were cleared to crank open the shutters one at a time to test the deployment mechanisms, starting … Read more

An Atlas 5 rocket boosted NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory into orbit Thursday, kicking off an $850 million mission to study the physics of the sun and the titanic magnetic storms, flares, and explosions that drive space weather across the solar system.

Using three sophisticated instruments that will collect enormous amounts of data over short time scales, scientists hope to improve their ability to predict the onset of major flares and other phenomena that can disrupt communications, satellite navigation, and power grids.

"SDO will observe the sun almost continuously for more than five years, sending back data at an … Read more

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Texas--The shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station late Tuesday in a picture-perfect rendezvous that included spectacular views of the shuttle against the blue-and-white backdrop of Earth.

With shuttle commander George Zamka flying Endeavour from the aft flight deck, the docking systems engaged on time at 11:06 p.m. CST as the two spacecraft sailed 215 miles above the Atlantic Ocean west of Portugal at five miles per second.

"Station and Houston, capture confirmed," shuttle pilot Terry Virts called out.

Going into this mission, the space station's mass was 764,350 pounds. … Read more