Four astronauts are on their way to the International Space Station after being sidelined by Boeing's Starliner trouble and other issues. SpaceX launched the U.S.-Japanese-Russian crew from Florida on Friday. They should reach the space station this weekend, replacing colleagues who launched in March as fill-ins for NASA's two stuck astronauts. Leading the taxi flight for NASA is Zena Cardman. She was yanked from a SpaceX flight last year to make room for Starliner's test pilots whose capsule was judged too dangerous to fly. Two of her crewmates were also training on Starliner, which remains grounded until next year.
Elon Musk is dialing back his threat to decommission a capsule used to take astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station for NASA. The threat came as President Donald Trump and Musk argued on social media on Thursday. Trump said he could cut government contracts given to Musk's rocket company, SpaceX. Musk responded by saying SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft. It was unclear how serious he was, but he later posted he wouldn't withdraw the capsule. SpaceX is the only U.S. company capable right now of transporting crews to and from the space station, using its four-person Dragon capsules.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, orbiting the earth once before landing safely via parachute after a planned ejection from his space capsule.
On an episode of "The Story Behind the AP Story," Associated Press space writer Marcia Dunn discusses the space odyssey of NASA's two stuck astronauts. Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are finally on their way home after more than nine months in space. Wilmore and Williams left the International Space Station in a SpaceX capsule early Tuesday, checking out with two others. The capsule is due to splash down in the evening off the Florida coast, weather permitting. The astronauts will then be taken to Houston. The astronauts' return will close out a dramatic marathon mission that began with a bungled test flight of Boeing's Starliner capsule last June.
Four astronauts are back on Earth after a space station mission that lasted almost eight months. A SpaceX capsule carrying the crew parachuted into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast before dawn Friday. The three Americans and one Russian should have returned from the International Space Station two months ago, but were delayed by Boeing's Starliner crew capsule and weather. Shortly after splashdown, NASA said one of its astronauts had a medical issue. The space agency says the unidentified astronaut is in stable condition and remains at a Florida hospital as a "precautionary measure."
Today's Highlight in History: On July 24, 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts — two of whom had been the first humans to set foot on the moon — splashed down safely in the Pacific.
Boeing has launched astronauts for the first time after years of delays. Two NASA test pilots blasted off aboard Boeing's Starliner capsule from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday. They're headed to the International Space Station for a weeklong stay. It was their third launch attempt, coming after a pair of rocket-related delays. Starliner's first test flight without a crew in 2019 failed to reach the space station, so Boeing had to repeat it. Then the company had to fix a slew of capsule problems. SpaceX has been launching astronauts since 2020, but NASA wants a backup taxi service.
