Weekly Spaceflight Update: June 8th - June 15

SpaceFlight Weekly

Jun 15

It was yet another great week for spaceflight. In addition to the many launches, we were also treated to the announcement of the four astronauts selected to fly on the next Artemis mission.

On June 9th, NASA held a press conference at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to announce the crew for the Artemis III mission. Scheduled to launch in 2027, Artemis III will serve as a test flight in low-Earth orbit to demonstrate rendezvous and docking with privately developed lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. This mission comes ahead of Artemis IV, which is planned to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago.
The four astronauts selected for Artemis III are:
NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, Commander
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano, Pilot
NASA astronaut Andre Douglas, Mission Specialist
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Mission Specialist

Additionally, NASA astronaut Bob Hines was named as the backup crew member.
Photo: NASA - John Kraus

Shortly before the crew announcement, representatives from SpaceX and Blue Origin provided updates on their lunar lander development.
Blue Origin’s John Couluris noted significant progress on the investigation into the recent New Glenn anomaly. He added that cleanup of the LC-36A pad is well underway, with parallel construction of the new LC-36B pad. Regarding the MK-1 lunar lander, Couluris stated that the first lander is expected to complete testing and be ready for launch later this year, with additional units in production which includes the one planned for Artemis III, which remains on track for the 2027 target.
SpaceX’s Jessica Jensen highlighted the success of Starship Flight 12 last month, which debuted the V3 version of Starship. She noted that multiple boosters and ships are in production, along with three additional launch pads under construction in Florida and Texas. Jensen explained that the docking hardware on the company’s Human Landing System (HLS) is nearly identical to the system used on Dragon, and that many of the sensors for rendezvous, proximity operations, and propellant transfer have already been proven on previous missions. She added that teams are building a flight-fidelity Starship cabin at Starbase in preparation for system integration. SpaceX is targeting later this year for a ship-to-ship propellant transfer demonstration, which will enable in-space refueling and allow HLS to reach the Moon. For Artemis III, the company plans to use a V3 Starship equipped with a docking adapter to rendezvous with Orion. For Artemis IV, NASA and SpaceX have adopted a revised plan in which the two vehicles will dock in low-Earth orbit rather than near-rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) to reduce risk, after which HLS will propel the combined stack into lunar orbit.

Photo: Blue Origin (Render)

NASA, SpaceX CRS-34 Coming Home

SpaceX’s CRS-34 Dragon capsule, after spending a month on station, is returning home no earlier than June 17th with teams targeting undocking to occur on June 16th. It will carry back thousands of pounds of time-sensitive scientific research samples and hardware, including:

Bioprinted organ and cartilage tissue samples Data and materials from experiments on improving cryogenic fuel storage DNA-inspired materials for potential new cancer treatments

An ocular imaging device used to monitor crew eye health

A sorbent bed that filters trace contaminants from cabin air

A separator pump from the waste and hygiene compartment The Advanced Plant Habitat

Launches This Week: