Space Capsule

A salvage team set off from Cape Canaveral, Fla., in search of Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom's space capsule, entombed in the Atlantic for 38 years. A 180-foot ship, the Needham Tide, headed for the 3-mile-deep waters 300 miles southeast of the Florida coast. Curt Newport, the expedition leader, estimated it would take at least one day to reach the area where he believes Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 lies on the ocean floor.

After spending more than three weeks docked with the International Space Station, SpaceX's Dragon space capsule is ready to return to Earth and splash down Tuesday in the Pacific Ocean. NASA Television will provide coverage of Dragon's departure beginning at 1 a.m. Pacific time, although the release of the spacecraft isn't expected until 4:06 a.m. The Dragon capsule will return with about 2,668 pounds of science samples from human research, biology and biotechnology studies, physical science investigations and education activities for NASA, the space agency said . Dragon is slated to splash down around 9:36 a.m. in the Pacific Ocean about 300 miles west of Baja California.

A Soyuz space capsule carrying an American, a Russian and a Spaniard landed safely in the steppes of Kazakhstan, Russian Mission Control said. Officials were pleased that the problems with May's landing -- which was about 250 miles off target -- were not repeated. The 3 1/2-hour descent marked only the second time that a U.S. astronaut has come home in a Russian craft and landed on foreign soil.

BEIRUT - U.S. officials are not exactly welcoming Iran's revelation this week that the Islamic Republic has sent a monkey into space and brought the creature back to Earth safely. The report by Iranian media recalled for many the early days of space flight, when both the United States and the Soviet Union launched animal-bearing spacecraft as a prelude to human space travel. But State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters in Washington on Monday that the reported mission raises concerns about possible Iranian violations of a United Nations  ban on development of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

Two Soviet cosmonauts guided their Soyuz space capsule to a successful docking with an orbiting "space hotel" today, bringing the Soviet Union one step closer to its goal of a permanently manned outpost in space. The linkup with the Mir space station, considered one of the most difficult maneuvers in manned space flight, was completed at 2:28 this morning, the official news agency Tass said. Table Already Set Waiting for Flight Commander Yuri V.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, which last week became the world's first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Thursday morning. At 8:44 a.m. Pacific time, the capsule is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne company, which is officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

About 563 miles west of Baja California, SpaceX's Dragon space capsule successfully splashed down after spending nine days in outer space. When the unmanned cone-shaped capsule hit the water at 8:42 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, it marked the end of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne company officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. It was the first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. "Welcome home, baby," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, in a news briefing from company headquarters.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, currently on the first contracted mission to resupply the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday afternoon. At 12:20 p.m. PDT, the capsule is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of the mission carried out by the Hawthorne company, which is officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The spacecraft delivered 882 pounds of cargo to the station earlier this month.

Less than 24 hours after a historic docking, astronauts aboard the International Space Station clambered into SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft and began unloading supplies that were packed inside. Wearing oxygen masks as a precaution, the astronauts opened the hatch, slid the door open, and took delivery of the 1,014 pounds of food, water and clothing aboard Dragon. "Like the smell of a brand new car," said NASA astronaut Don Pettit, after going inside. Live coverage of the hatch opening, which included some of the first video footage from inside the cone-shaped Dragon, started Saturday shortly before 3 a.m PDT on the Hawthorne company's website and NASA TV. Delivering cargo wasn't SpaceX's key mission -- the space station is well-provisioned.

Nearly 38 years after its splashdown from space, the space capsule Liberty Bell 7 was successfully raised early Tuesday, a team of explorers announced. The capsule had lain three miles below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean near the Bahamas since astronaut Gus Grissom's 15-minute flight July 21, 1961. Parts of the craft were remarkably well-preserved, including several dimes from clothing worn by Grissom. Liberty Bell was the only manned spacecraft that had not been recovered.

After spending three weeks in outer space, SpaceX's Dragon space capsule survived a fiery reentry of the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down hundreds of miles west of Southern California. When the unmanned cone-shaped capsule hit the water at 12:22 p.m. Pacific time Sunday, it marked the end of the mission carried out by the Hawthorne company officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The spacecraft delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the space station earlier this month and returned with 1,673 pounds of cargo.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule survived a fiery reentry into the Earth's atmosphere and splashed down about 250 miles west of the Southern California coast Sunday, concluding NASA's first contracted cargo mission to the International Space Station. The three-week undertaking, carried out by the Hawthorne company officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp., was capped off at 12:22 p.m. Pacific time when the cone-shaped capsule hit the water. Shortly after, ships moved in and fished the spacecraft out. The Dragon capsule delivered 882 pounds of supplies to the space station this month and returned with 1,673 pounds of cargo that included damaged equipment, scientific experiments and hundreds of astronaut blood and urine samples to be analyzed by NASA officials.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, currently on the first contracted mission to resupply the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Sunday afternoon. At 12:20 p.m. PDT, the capsule is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean about 250 miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of the mission carried out by the Hawthorne company, which is officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. The spacecraft delivered 882 pounds of cargo to the station earlier this month.

After performing a series of delicate maneuvers above the Earth, SpaceX's cone-shaped Dragon capsule moved in Wednesday for a historic docking with the International Space Station. Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as SpaceX, is on track to become the first private company to resupply the space station on a contracted mission for NASA. At about 3:56 a.m. PDT, the crew aboard the space station used its robotic arm to grab the Dragon as it floated outside.

About 563 miles west of Baja California, SpaceX's Dragon space capsule successfully splashed down after spending nine days in outer space. When the unmanned cone-shaped capsule hit the water at 8:42 a.m. Pacific time Thursday, it marked the end of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne company officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. It was the first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station. "Welcome home, baby," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder and chief executive, in a news briefing from company headquarters.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, which last week became the world's first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Thursday morning. At 8:44 a.m. Pacific time, the capsule is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne company, which is officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp.

Undersea salvage experts are expected to set out this weekend to find and recover the long-lost Mercury space capsule that carried U.S. astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom into suborbital flight 38 years ago but then nearly killed him, officials said Wednesday. A successful mission would recover a piece of American space history lost at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The salt and corrosion come off with diligent scrubbing. So, bolt by bolt and cable by cable, the famed Liberty Bell space capsule is being cleaned up. But all the scouring has not yet rubbed away the mystery that clings to the Liberty Bell. Or the tarnish that stains a hero's reputation. The Liberty Bell carried astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom into space on July 21, 1961. It was America's second manned spaceflight, a triumph right up until splashdown.

S paceX 's Dragon space capsule successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday about 563 miles west of Baja California after spending nine days in outer space. The unmanned capsule hit the water at 8:42 a.m. PDT, marking the end of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne-based company, officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp. "Splashdown! Welcome home # Dragon !" the company tweeted . About five minutes before splashdown, the three main parachutes billowed open.

SpaceX's Dragon space capsule, which last week became the world's first privately built and operated spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station, is scheduled to return to Earth on Thursday morning. The unmanned capsule is set to splash down at 8:44 a.m. PDT in the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles west of Southern California. It will be the culmination of a historic mission carried out by the Hawthorne-based company, officially known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp.