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Former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly plans to halt his Twitter fight with a senior Russian space official, which was sparked by the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. In a CNN report published on Tuesday (March 15), Kelly said that NASA had requested that he and other former agency astronauts stop such feuds, as they could … Read more
NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei has broken the record for longest US human spaceflight, a title former astronaut Scott Kelly has held since 2016. Tuesday marks 341 consecutive days in space for Vande Hei, surpassing Kelly’s record-breaking 340-day stint aboard the International Space Station (ISS). But the achievement comes amid volatile relations between the US and … Read more
When NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei launched into space 11 months ago, he did not know how long he would be off the planet, let alone that he would be up there long enough to set any records. But when the clock strikes 12:24 p.m. EDT (1624 GMT) today (March 15), Vande Hei will claim … Read more
Geopolitical tensions won’t keep an American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts from returning to Earth together as planned this month. NASA’s Mark Vande Hei and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anton Shkaplerov have long been scheduled to come home from the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft on March 30. And that remains the … Read more
A Russian-made video posted on Telegram a week ago is causing some anxiety about the status of a NASA astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As shared by NASA Watch on Saturday (March 5), the video by Russian state news outlet RIA Novosti shows NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei being left behind on the … Read more
Scott Kelly has found another way to protest Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. The former NASA astronaut has been a vocal opponent of the invasion, expressing his displeasure with Russian aggression frequently via Twitter, and in Russian to boot. (All astronauts who visit the International Space Station must speak English and Russian, and Kelly has … Read more
Image 1 of 22 (Image credit: Roscosmos) First woman in space: Valentina Tereshkova The first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova, blazed a trail for the many female spaceflyers who would follow. Tereshkova, a Soviet cosmonaut, was selected from more than 400 applicants to launch on the Vostok 6 mission June 16, 1963. She was 26 at … Read more
The space partnership between Russia and the U.S. looks shakier and shakier every day. That partnership has been fraying badly since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, spurring the United States and a number of other countries to impose new economic sanctions. Russian space officials have decried these sanctions; in response, they have stopped the … Read more
China is planning for its next-generation crew launch vehicle for missions to its space station and the moon to have a reusable first stage. The new rocket would allow a reusable launch option for sending astronauts or cargo to China’s new Tiangong space station, while a larger version would allow China to send crew on … Read more
China’s Tiangong space station is still under construction but the astronauts aboard are already bringing aspects of Chinese traditions and culture into space. Shenzhou 13 mission astronaut Wang Yaping, China’s second woman in space and the first aboard the space station, played a song with a guzheng, a traditional Chinese string instrument, aboard the Tianhe … Read more