Space station trio returns to Earth in Soyuz MS-04

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Space station trio returns to Earth in Soyuz MS-04

Three members of Expedition 52 returned to Earth inside their Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft. The landing took at 9:21 p.m. EDT Sept. 2 (7:21 a.m. Kazakh Time / 01:21 GMT Sept. 3), 2017, in Kazakhstan. Returning were NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer, as well as Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. The latter two have been in space since April 2017, while Whitson has been living aboard the outpost since November 2016 – nearly 10 months.

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ISS astronauts view Great American Eclipse from space

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ISS astronauts view Great American Eclipse from space

On Aug. 21, 2017, millions of Americans witnessed the first total solar eclipse to cross North America from the Pacific to Atlantic coasts in 99 years. While much of the country experienced cloudy conditions, there were six people who saw the Moon's umbra from above the weather -- in space: The crew of the International Space Station.

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SpaceX’s CRS-12 Dragon capsule arrives at space station

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SpaceX’s CRS-12 Dragon capsule arrives at space station

Some 36 hours after leaving Kennedy Space Center atop a Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX’s CRS-12 Dragon capsule rendezvoused with and was berthed to the International Space Station. The cargo spacecraft is carrying more than 2,900 kilograms of supplies and science experiments.

Once the capsule was within about 10 meters beneath the Destiny laboratory module, Expedition 52 crew members Paolo Nespoli of the European Space Agency and Jack Fischer of NASA used the robotic Canadarm2 to pluck the spacecraft from space.

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Getting a phone call from SPACE!

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Getting a phone call from SPACE!

Starting in July, Gary Jordan of NASA's Johnson Space Center has been hosting a new podcast called "Houston, We Have a Podcast." The most recent episode was broadcast live on YouTube and featured a special out of this world guest.

Episode six, which was recorded Aug. 10, 2017, featured astronaut Jack "2fish" Fischer, who is currently residing onboard the International Space Station. It was the first live broadcast of the show.

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Station boosts orbit ahead of spacewalk, visiting vehicle swaps

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Station boosts orbit ahead of spacewalk, visiting vehicle swaps

The International Space Station got its orbit reboosted on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017. The slight raising of its orbit set up the next crew swap planned for the beginning of September.

Recently arrived Progress MS-06 used its onboard engines to increase the speed of the outpost, thus raising its orbit. The spacecraft is currently docked to the Zvezda service module located at the aft end of the station.

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Astronaut Randy Bresnik enters BEAM

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Astronaut Randy Bresnik enters BEAM

Just days after arriving at the ISS, NASA astronaut and Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Randy Bresnik got to visit the usually sealed-off BEAM module.

The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module is a technology demonstrator designed to test the effectiveness of an "inflatable" habitat as an alternative or supplement to traditional rigid modules. Astronauts periodically enter the module to collect various data points such as temperature, radiation exposure, condensation, etc.

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ISS crew flies over Super Typhoon Noru

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ISS crew flies over Super Typhoon Noru

Recently arrived NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik snapped an amazing photo of Super Typhoon Noru in the Northwestern Pacific Ocean. The picture was taken Aug. 1, 2017 as the ISS was flying overhead.

Less than a week ago, the system was a mere tropical storm. But by Sunday, July 30, the storm had swelled to a super typhoon. According to meteorologists, it is the most intense storm of 2017, so far.

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ISS crew size increases to 6 with Soyuz MS-05 docking

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ISS crew size increases to 6 with Soyuz MS-05 docking

After a six-hour, four-orbit trek to rendezvous and dock with the International Space Station (ISS), the three-man crew of the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft joined Expedition 52, increasing the outpost’s population to six people.

Docking took place at 5:54 p.m. EDT (21:54 GMT) July 28, 2017, while the spacecraft and station were flying over Germany.

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Soyuz MS-03 crew returns to Earth after nearly 200 days in space

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Soyuz MS-03 crew returns to Earth after nearly 200 days in space

Landing on the Kazakh Steppe, two members of the International Space Station’s Expedition 51 crew returned to Earth on June 2, 2017, after spending 196 days in orbit. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet landed in their Soyuz MS-03 capsule about an hour before sunset local time at 8:10 p.m. (10:10 a.m. EDT / 14:10 GMT).

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