Tag: astronaut

Astronauts on new mission dismiss safety concerns after Soyuz accident

by Andrei BORODOULINE Agence France Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Astronauts of the first manned space mission since an unprecedented accident in October on Sunday brushed aside concerns about Russia’s Soyuz rocket, saying risks were part of the job. Oleg Kononenko of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Anne McClain of NASA and David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency will launch to the International Space Station (ISS) from Baikonur in Kazakhstan aboard a Soviet-designed Soyuz […]

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UAE announces first astronauts to go to space

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — The United Arab Emirates has selected its first two astronauts to go on a mission to the International Space Station, Dubai’s ruler said Monday. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum named the new astronauts as Hazza al-Mansouri, 34, and 37-year-old Sultan al-Neyadi. Writing on Twitter, he said the duo “raise the bar of ambitions for future Emirati generations”. Sheikh Mohammed, the UAE’s vice president and prime minister, last year vowed to […]

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For first time in decades, astronaut quits NASA training

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — For the first time in five decades, a NASA astronaut candidate has resigned from training, the US space agency said Tuesday. Robb Kulin resigned from NASA effective August 31 for personal reasons, spokeswoman Brandi Dean said, declining to provide further details. It’s not an easy gig to get — some 18,000 people routinely seek the 12 spots that open each year. Kulin, who joined his class sounding upbeat, is the […]

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Moonwalking astronaut-artist Alan Bean dies at 86

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US astronaut Alan Bean, the fourth person to walk on the moon, has died, his family announced in a statement released by NASA. He was 86 years old. The moonwalker who went on to become a painter died Saturday in Houston after suddenly falling ill weeks before, the statement said. He was among the elite group NASA chose for its third group of astronauts in 1963, having served as a […]

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Black NASA astronaut is replaced in sudden crew shuffle

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Jeanette Epps, 46, a former CIA agent turned astronaut, was about to become the first African-American to embark on a mission lasting several months at the International Space Station. It’s still unclear why, but plans for her June liftoff suddenly changed, and another astronaut was chosen in her place, NASA has announced. “A number of factors are considered when making flight assignments; these decisions are personnel matters, for which NASA […]

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‘To boldly grow’: Japan astronaut worried by space growth spurt

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — A Japanese astronaut has sparked hilarity back on Earth after he claimed to have grown nine centimeters in space, making him worried he would not squeeze into the capsule home. Norishige Kanai, who is aboard the International Space Station, tweeted: “We had our bodies measured after reaching space, and wow, wow, wow, I had actually grown by as much as 9 centimeters (3.5 inches)!” “I have grown like a plant in […]

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McCandless, first astronaut to fly untethered, dies at age 80

  WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Bruce McCandless, an astronaut who was the first to fly untethered from his spacecraft in a gripping scene watched around the world, has died at the age of 80, NASA announced on its website. The US space agency did not give the cause of death on Thursday for the longtime resident of the western state of Colorado. The son and grandson of decorated war heroes, he graduated near the […]

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US spacewalkers install ‘new eyes’ at space station

MIAMI, United States (AFP) — Two US astronauts installed a high-definition video camera at the International Space Station Tuesday and made more progress on repairs to the lab’s robotic arm, NASA said. NASA spokesman Rob Navias described the camera equipment as offering “new eyes” to the orbiting outpost, as live video showed astronaut Randy Bresnik in sharp detail, floating in his white spacesuit. The previous camera had aged, and was tinting images pink. Another camera […]

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Three astronauts blast off for five-month ISS mission

by Kirill Kudryavtsev  Agence France Presse BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan (AFP) — Two US astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut blasted off for the International Space Station in a nighttime launch from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Wednesday, heading for a five-month mission. The Soyuz MS-06 rocket carrying Alexander Misurkin of the Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, NASA first-time flyer Mark Vande Hei and his veteran colleague Joe Acaba launched as scheduled at 3:17 am (2117 GMT), according […]

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“Better you than me,” Trump tells record-breaking astronaut

by Jean-Louis Santini / with Kerry Sheridan in Miami Agence France Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — United States President Donald Trump congratulated National Aeronautics Space Administration astronaut Peggy Whitson for setting a new space record on Monday, but expressed disdain for a particular rigor of space life — drinking recycled urine. Whitson, 57, marked 534 days in orbit and counting on Monday, beating NASA’s previous record-holder Jeff Williams, but remains still far short of the world […]

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ISS astronauts prepare to return to Earth

TEXAS, United States (Reuters) — Outgoing International Space Station (ISS) commander Shane Kimbrough along with Russian crewmates Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko were scheduled to wrap up a 173-day mission on Monday (April 10), with a parachute landing in Kazakhstan at 7:21 a.m. EDT (1121 GMT). The astronauts exchanged hugs and took photographs before closing the hatch door on the ISS. Their replacements, NASA’s Jack Fischer and Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, were due to arrive […]

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