WASHINGTON, June 8, 2024 (AFP) – William Anders, the former US astronaut who took the historic “Earthrise” photo from space over 55 years ago, died in a plane crash on Friday at the age of 90, his family said. Anders had been piloting a small plane which crashed off the coast of Washington state on Friday morning, his son told US media. Anders was alone in the plane. His body was later recovered by a […]
Tag: astronaut
Astronaut who led humanity’s first mission around the Moon dead at 95
Frank Borman, the NASA astronaut who led the 1968 Apollo 8 mission, the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon, has died at the age of 95, the US space agency said Thursday. He passed away on November 7 in Billings, Montana. “Today we remember one of NASA’s best,” said the agency’s administrator Bill Nelson, in a statement. “His lifelong love for aviation and exploration was only surpassed by his love for his wife Susan.” […]
US astronaut gets used to Earth after record-setting 371 days in space
HOUSTON, Oct 14, 2023 (AFP) – After spending more than a year in space, Frank Rubio now has to get used to that pesky thing Earthlings call gravity. “Walking hurts a little bit the first few days, the soles of your feet and lower back,” he said at a news conference Friday at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. “I think there is a certain level of pain that comes with the fact […]
Three Chinese astronauts return to Earth after six months in space
by Laurie CHEN Agence France Presse Three Chinese astronauts returned to Earth on Saturday after 183 days in space, ending China’s longest crewed mission as it continues its quest to become a major space power. The Shenzhou-13 spacecraft was the latest mission in Beijing’s drive to rival the United States, after landing a rover on Mars and sending probes to the Moon. Live footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed the capsule landing in a […]
‘It was unbelievable’: Star Trek’s Shatner becomes real life astronaut
“Star Trek” actor William Shatner finally became a real space traveler on Blue Origin’s second crewed mission Wednesday, calling it the most profound experience of his life. “It was unbelievable,” said the 90-year-old Canadian, known to the sci-fi show’s legion of “Trekkies” as the daring Captain James T. Kirk, a role he first played more than half a century ago. He was joined on the 11-minute journey beyond Earth’s atmosphere and back again by […]
Astronauts smell smoke, burning on Russia’s ISS module
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP) — A smoke alarm sounded Thursday in Russia’s segment of the International Space Station (ISS) and astronauts smelled “burning” on board, Russia’s space agency and NASA said. The incident, which the Russian space agency Roscosmos said happened at 01:55 GMT ahead of a scheduled spacewalk, is the latest in a string of problems to spur safety concerns over conditions on the Russian segment. “A smoke detector was triggered in the Zvezda […]
Astronauts install new rollout solar panels on International Space Station
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of France and Shane Kimbrough of the United States spacewalked outside the International Space Station on Wednesday as they began the painstaking process of installing new solar panels to boost the orbital outpost’s deteriorating power systems. It was the first of several excursions to augment the ISS’s existing eight solar arrays, with the first pair operating continuously since December 2000. The spacewalking duo were installing the first […]
Space explorers wanted: NASA seeks next generation of astronauts
HOUSTON, United States (AFP) — Wanted: The next generation of astronauts to walk on the Moon and journey to Mars. You’ll need a relevant Master’s degree, be prepared to live and work 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth on the International Space Station, and be a US citizen. NASA announced Tuesday it was seeking to boost its astronaut corps, which currently stands at 48 active personnel, as part of plans to dramatically expand its crewed […]
US astronaut returns to Earth after longest mission by woman
by Christopher RICKLETON ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) –NASA’s Christina Koch returned to Earth safely on Thursday after shattering the spaceflight record for female astronauts with a stay of almost 11 months aboard the International Space Station. Koch touched down at 0912 GMT on the Kazakh steppe after 328 days in space, along with Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency. Koch was shown seated and smiling broadly after […]
Record-breaking US astronaut set to return to Earth
by Christopher RICKLETON ALMATY, Kazakhstan (AFP) — US astronaut Christina Koch is set to return to Earth Thursday having shattered the spaceflight record for female astronauts by spending almost a year aboard the International Space Station. Koch of NASA is expected to touch down in the Kazakh steppes with colleagues Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency and Alexander Skvortsov of the Russian space agency at 0912 GMT after 328 days in space. The 41-year-old […]
NASA tests launch-abort system for moon-mission capsule
WASHINGTON, United States — NASA carried out a successful test Tuesday of a launch-abort system for the Orion capsule designed to take US astronauts to the Moon. The three-minute exercise at Cape Canaveral in Florida aimed to test in almost real-life conditions the evacuation of astronauts from the capsule in the event of an explosion or rocket booster failure. The test “put us one huge step closer to the first Artemis flight carrying people […]
Russian, North American astronauts return to earth
by Alexander NEMENOV DZHESKAZGAN, Afghanistan (AFP) — The first crew to blast off to the International Space Station following a launch accident that deepened doubts over Russia’s space program returned to earth safely on Tuesday. NASA astronaut Anne McClain, veteran cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, and Canadian Space Agency record-holder David Saint-Jacques emerged from the spacecraft to applause from support crews, after touching down near the Kazakh city of Dzhezkazgan. Live footage from the landing […]





