Astronauts breeze through US EVA-45

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Astronauts breeze through US EVA-45

Less than a week after completing one spacewalk, International Space Station Expedition 53 astronauts Randy Bresnik and Mark Vande Hei set out on another extravehicular activity. This excursion, U.S. EVA-45, lasted about 6.5 hours.

At 7:56 a.m. EDT (11:56 GMT) Oct. 10, 2017, the two NASA astronauts switched their spacesuits over to battery power, officially starting U.S. EVA-45. The primary task of the spacewalk was to replace a faulty camera and begin the process of lubricating the new Latching End Effector on the robotic Canadarm2.

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Spacewalkers replace ‘hand’ on space station robotic arm

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Spacewalkers replace ‘hand’ on space station robotic arm

Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei wrapped up the first of three spacewalks planned for the next two weeks. The October 5, 2017, spacewalk was nearly seven hours long and saw the replacement of one of the two Latching End Effectors on the International Space Station’s robotic arm.

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ISS crew size returns to 6

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ISS crew size returns to 6

The population of the International Space Station returned to six people as the crew of Soyuz MS-06 docked with and entered the outpost. The spacecraft hard-mated with its docking port at about 10:55 p.m. EDT Sept. 12 (02:55 GMT Sept. 13), 2017.

About 2 hours later, at 1:08 a.m. EDT (05:08 GMT), the hatches between the Soyuz and space station were opened allowing Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin and NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba to float inside.

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Next ISS crew rockets to space atop Soyuz rocket

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Next ISS crew rockets to space atop Soyuz rocket

Launching atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, three people are heading toward the International Space Station. The trio will arrive at the $100 billion complex in just under six hours.

NASA astronauts Mark Vande Hei and Joe Acaba, along with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin, launched inside their Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft atop a Soyuz-FG rocket.

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Gallery: Soyuz MS-04 crew back on Earth

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Gallery: Soyuz MS-04 crew back on Earth

Blazing through Earth’s atmosphere and coming to a parachute assisted touchdown in Kazakhstan, three International Space Station crew members returned home in their Soyuz MS-04 capsule. The landing took place at 9:21 p.m. EDT Sept. 2 (7:21 a.m. local time / 01:21 GMT Sept. 3), 2017.

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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-CREAM installed outside space station

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ISS-CREAM installed outside space station

One of the external payloads that rode uphill with SpaceX's CRS-12 Dragon spacecraft was the Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass Investigation, or CREAM (sometimes referred to as ISS-CREAM). This instrument, which is designed to look for the origins of cosmic rays, has now been attached to the exposed facility on the Japanese Kibo module.

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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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Russian spacewalk goes into overtime

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Russian spacewalk goes into overtime

The two cosmonauts on board the International Space Station donned spacesuits and stepped outside the outpost for the 43rd Russian segment-based extravehicular activity. The Aug. 17, 2017, spacewalk lasted more than an hour longer than planned for a total duration of 7 hours, 34 minutes.

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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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