posted 05-12-2015 04:24 PM               

Progress cargo craft failure delays landing, launch of space station crews

Two astronauts and a cosmonaut onboard the International Space Station won't be returning to Earth this week as the result of a Russian cargo spacecraft that failed to reach the orbiting outpost late last month.

NASA astronaut Terry Virts, cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, and astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with the European Space Agency had been scheduled to leave the station and come home on Wednesday (May 13) after spending more than 170 days in space. Instead, they will stay at the complex as part of the station's Expedition 43 crew through at least the beginning of June, officials said on Tuesday.

"The partner agencies agreed to adjust the schedule after hearing the Russian Federal Space Agency's preliminary findings on the recent loss of the Progress [M-27M] cargo craft," a NASA statement read. "The exact dates have not yet been established, but will be announced in the coming weeks."

posted 06-09-2015 12:29 PM               

Roscosmos announces new Soyuz and Progress launch dates

Station managers from Roscosmos have announced new Soyuz and Progress spacecraft launch dates through the end of the year.

Three Soyuz crew missions to the space station have been given new launch dates. The next Soyuz mission, TMA-17M, carrying three Expedition 44/45 crew members is scheduled sometime between July 23 and 25. A Soyuz taxi flight, TMA-18M, that will bring up flight engineer Sergey Volkov and return Commander Gennady Padalka is scheduled for launch Sept. 1. Volkov will be accompanied by ESA astronaut Andres Mogensen and a third crew member yet to be announced. The Expedition 46/47 trio will launch Dec. 15.

Three Progress missions were also rescheduled. The first, M-38M, resupply mission is set for July 3 and the next two are planned for Sept. 21 and Nov. 21.

In space, station commander Terry Virts and flight engineers Anton Shkaplerov and Samantha Cristoforetti are packing their Soyuz TMA-15M and getting ready for Thursday's (June 11) undocking and landing. The homebound trio will undock at 6:20 a.m. EDT (1020 GMT) and land in Kazakhstan at 9:43 a.m. EDT (1343 GMT).