Soyuz Spacecraft Landings

Images of Soyuz spacecraft descending with parachutes, landing in remote areas. The shots are clear and serene, illustrating the return of astronauts from space.

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 54 crew members Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei of NASA and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 (February 27 Eastern time.) Acaba, Vande Hei, and Misurkin are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 53 and 54 crews onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, on Monday, September 17, 2012. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.

nhq201704100011 (April 10, 2017) --- The Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 10, 2017 (Kazakh time). Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are returning after 173 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 49 and 50 crews onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 31 Commander Oleg Kononenko of Russia and Flight Engineers Don Pettit of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sunday, July 1, 2012. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers returned from more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 30 and 31 crews.

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-08M spacecraft with Expedition 36 Commander Pavel Vinogradov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA aboard, is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy returned to Earth after five and a half months on the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-06 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 54 crew members Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei of NASA and cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018 (February 27 Eastern time.) Acaba, Vande Hei, and Misurkin are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 53 and 54 crews onboard the International Space Station.

JSC2007-E-20476 (21 April 2007) --- The Soyuz TMA-9 spacecraft floats to a landing southwest of Karaganda, Kazakhstan at approximately 6:30 p.m. local time on April 21, 2007. Onboard were astronaut Michael E. Lopez-Alegria, Expedition 14 commander and NASA space station science officer; cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin, Soyuz commander and flight engineer representing Russia's Federal Space Agency; and U.S. spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi.

The Soyuz TMA-21 spacecraft and the drogue chute are seen during the landing with Expedition 28 Commander Andrey Borisenko, and Flight Engineers Ron Garan, and Alexander Samokutyaev in a remote area outside of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Friday, Sept. 16, 2011. NASA Astronaut Garan, Russian Cosmonauts Borisenko and Samokutyaev are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 27 and 28 crews.

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is seen as it descends through the fog before landing with Expedition 42 commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Elena Serova of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, March 12, 2015. NASA Astronaut Wilmore, Russian Cosmonauts Samokutyaev and Serova are returning after almost six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 41 and 42 crews.

The Soyuz TMA-19 spacecraft is seen as it descends with Expedition 25 Commander Doug Wheelock and Flight Engineers Shannon Walker and Fyodor Yurchikhin near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Friday, Nov. 26, 2010. Russian Cosmonaut Yurchikhin and NASA Astronauts Wheelock and Walker, are returning from nearly six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 24 and 25 crews.

Orion Splashdown. At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASAs Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. Orion will be recovered by NASAs Landing and Recovery team, U.S. Navy and Department of Defense partners aboard the USS Portland ship.

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

S69-20364 (13 March 1969) --- The Apollo 9 spacecraft, with astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart aboard, approaches touchdown in the Atlantic recovery area to conclude a successful 10-day Earth-orbital space mission. Splashdown occurred at 12 00 53 p.m. (EST), March 13, 1969, only 4.5 nautical miles from the prime recovery ship, USS Guadalcanal.

Expedition 69 Soyuz Landing. The Soyuz MS-23 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 69 NASA astronaut Frank Rubio, Roscosmos cosmonauts Dmitri Petelin and Sergey Prokopyev, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. The trio are returning to Earth after logging 371 days in space as members of Expeditions 68-69 aboard the International Space Station. For Rubio, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Photo Credit (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman in a remote area southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. NASA Astronaut Coleman, Russian Cosmonaut Kondratyev and Italian Astronaut Nespoli are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 26 and 27 crews.

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station.

A successful Orion parachute test takes place at U.S. Army Yuma Proving ground in Arizona on March 8, 2017. This is the second test in a series of eight that will certify Orion's parachutes for human space flight.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Visibility of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory is good through the thin upper-level clouds through which it must travel to reach orbit. Liftoff from Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was at 10 23 a.m. EST Feb. 11. This is the 100th launch of a commercial Atlas_Centaur rocket. The observatory, known as SDO, is the first mission in NASA's Living With a Star Program and is designed to study the causes of solar variability and its impacts on Earth. The spacecraft's long-term measurements will give solar scientists in-depth information to help characterize the interior of the Sun, the Sun's magnetic field, the hot plasma of the solar corona, and the density of radiation that creates the ionosphere of the planets. The information will be used to create better forecasts of space weather needed to protect the aircraft, satellites and astronauts living and working in space.

NASAs SpaceX Crew-4 Splashdown. The SpaceX Crew Dragon Freedom spacecraft is seen as it lands with NASA astronauts Kjell Lindgren, Robert Hines, Jessica Watkins, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti aboard in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida, Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. Lindgren, Hines, Watkins, and Cristoforetti are returning after 170 days in space as part of Expeditions 67 and 68 aboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 48 crew members NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, Russian cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin, and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016(Kazakh time). Williams, Ovchinin, and Skripochka are returning after 172 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 47 and 48 crews onboard the International Space Station.

ISS005-E-05871 (25 June 2002) --- Backdropped by the blue and white Earth, an unpiloted Progress 7 supply vehicle departs from the Zvezda Service Modules docking port on the International Space Station (ISS) carrying its load of trash and unneeded equipment to be deorbited and burned up in the atmosphere. The undocking clears the way for the arrival of a new Progress 8, filled with fresh supplies, which is planned to dock to the station at 1:25 a.m. (CDT) on June 29, 2002.

ISS029-E-005021 (16 Sept. 2011) --- Backdropped against blue skies, the Soyuz TMA- 21 spacecraft departs from the International Space Station and heads toward a landing in a remote area outside the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Sept. 16, 2011. NASA astronaut Ron Garan, flight engineer, along with Expedition 28 commander Andrey Borisenko and flight engineer Alexander Samokutyaev, both of the Russian Federal Space Agency, are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 27 and 28 crews.

The second X-43A hypersonic research aircraft and its modified Pegasus booster rocket accelerate after launch from NASA's B-52B launch aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on March 27, 2004. The mission originated from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Minutes later the X-43A separated from the Pegasus booster and accelerated to its intended speed of Mach 7.

Orion Splashdown. At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASAs Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. Orion will be recovered by NASAs Landing and Recovery team, U.S. Navy and Department of Defense partners aboard the USS Portland.

OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Training. A training model of the sample return capsule is seen during a drop test in preparation for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and will return to Earth on September 24th, landing under parachute at the Utah Test and Training Range.

The Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, May 14, 2014. Wakata, Tyurin and Mastracchio returned to Earth after more than six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 38 and 39 crews.

A C-17 aircraft flies above the U.S. Armys Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona during testing of the Boeing CST-100 Starliners parachute system on June 26, 2019. This test, known as a “high Q” test, involved releasing a dart-shaped device - functioning as a Starliner weight simulant - from the aircraft and intentionally inflating the parachutes at higher pressures than expected during missions. The data gathered from this parachute test will help validate the system is safe to carry astronauts to and from the International Space Station as part of NASAs Commercial Crew Program. Boeing is targeting an uncrewed Orbital Flight Test to the space station this summer, followed by its Crew Flight Test. Starliner will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

OSIRIS-REx Sample Return Training. Recovery teams participate in field rehearsals in preparation for the retrieval of the sample return capsule from NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023, at the Department of Defense's Utah Test and Training Range. The sample was collected from the asteroid Bennu in October 2020 by NASAs OSIRIS-REx spacecraft and will return to Earth on September 24th, landing under parachute at the Utah Test and Training Range.

NASA has completes the final test to qualify Orions parachute system for flights with astronauts, checking off an important milestone on the path to send humans on missions to the Moon and beyond on Sept. 12, 2018...Over the course of eight tests at the U.S. Armys Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, engineers have evaluated the performance of Orions parachute system during normal landing sequences as well as several failure scenarios and a variety of potential aerodynamic conditions to ensure astronauts can return safely from deep space missions.

NASA has completes the final test to qualify Orions parachute system for flights with astronauts, checking off an important milestone on the path to send humans on missions to the Moon and beyond on Sept. 12, 2018...Over the course of eight tests at the U.S. Armys Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, engineers have evaluated the performance of Orions parachute system during normal landing sequences as well as several failure scenarios and a variety of potential aerodynamic conditions to ensure astronauts can return safely from deep space missions.

51A-90015 (8 Nov. 1984) --- John W. Young, who has seen many launches from various angles, used a handheld camera to record this scene of the very early phase of launch for NASA's space shuttle Discovery. Young was flying the NASA shuttle training aircraft (STA). Shuttle Discovery (51A) is seen as a spot of light at the top of a column of smoke outlined among the dense cloud cover.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is seen as it lands with NASA astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley onboard in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020. The Demo-2 test flight for NASA's Commercial Crew Program was the first to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station and return them safely to Earth onboard a commercially built and operated spacecraft. Behnken and Hurley returned after spending 64 days in space.

The Soyuz TMA-2 spacecraft carrying cosmonaut Yuri I. Malenchenko, Expedition 7 Mission Commander; astronaut Edward T. Lu, NASA International Space Station Science Officer and Flight Engineer; and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain lands in Kazakhstan on Monday, October 27, 2003 at 9:41 p.m. (EST).

ISS024-E-007206 (2 July 2010) --- The unpiloted ISS Progress 38 resupply vehicle approaches the International Space Station, bringing almost two tons of food, fuel, oxygen, propellant and supplies for the Expedition 24 crew members aboard the station. The attempted docking on July 2, 2010, was aborted when telemetry between the Progress and the space station was lost about 25 minutes before its planned docking. As a result, the Progress vehicle continued on its trajectory and glided past the space station. Later, the Progress successfully docked to the aft end of the Zvezda Service Module at 12:17 p.m. (EDT) on July 4, 2010. The docking was executed flawlessly by Progress Kurs automated rendezvous system.

Orion Splashdown. At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASAs Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. Orion will be recovered by NASAs Landing and Recovery team, U.S. Navy and Department of Defense partners aboard the USS Portland ship.

GMT327_19_35_Barry Wilmore_Tenoumer Impact Crater - Huge Icebergs_131 (Image was released by astronaut on Instagram.)

ISS030-E-254049 (22 April 2012) --- An unpiloted ISS Progress resupply vehicle approaches the International Space Station, carrying 2.8 tons of food, fuel and supplies. The cargo delivery includes 1,988 pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen and air, 926 pounds of water and 2,703 pounds of spare parts, resupply items and experiment hardware for the residents of the space station. Progress 47 docked to the stations Pirs Docking Compartment at 10:39 a.m. (EDT) on April 22, 2012.

The unpiloted Russian Progress 7 supply ship departs from the Zvezda Service Module's docking port on the International Space Station. Carrying its load of trash and urneeded equipment, it will be deorbited and burned up in the atmosphere. The undocking paves the way for the arrival of the new Progress 8, filled with fresh supplies. Soviet designers realized that long-duration missions in space would demand a constant supply of consumable materials from Earth. The cost-effective Progress spacecraft made possible an almost permanent presence in space and stands out as a single biggest contribution to this achievement. Propulsion and service systems were installed in the tail section of the vehicle and the cargo ship was inseparable during its entire flight. Upon conclusion of its supply mission to the Station, it would be directed into the atmosphere to burn up.

The Soyuz TMA-09M is seen moments before it lands southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with the crew of Expedition 37, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Expedition 37 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA and Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency are returning to Earth after five and a half months on the International Space Station.

Artist's rendering of NASA's Stardust capsule returning to Earth. The Stardust spacecraft will bring back samples of interstellar dust, including recently discovered dust streaming into our Solar System from the direction of Sagittarius.

1979 - Members of the Balloon Research and Development Test Branch, Air Force Geophysics Laboratory, prepare to release a helium-filled balloon as dawn breaks.

Orion teams perform an Orion Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) drop test using the Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona on Dec. 20, 2012. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

Regions - Images Relating to the Discover-AQ Program - images and video clips relating to the Discover-AQ Program. Discover-AQ stands for Deriving Information on Surface conditions from COlumn and VERtically resolved observations relevant to Air Quality , Environmental Protection Agency

The Soyuz TMA-18 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 24 Commander Alexander Skvortsov and Flight Engineers Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Mikhail Kornienko near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010. Russian Cosmonauts Skvortsov and Kornienko and NASA Astronaut Caldwell Dyson, are returning from six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 23 and 24 crews.

NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Folder lists this as Airplanes in flight with contrails.

The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 56 Commander Drew Feustel and Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold of NASA, along with Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. Feustel, Arnold, and Artemyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 55 and 56 crews onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 62 crew members Jessica Meir and Drew Morgan of NASA, and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, Friday, April 17, 2020. Meir and Skripochka returned after 205 days in space, and Morgan after 272 days in space. All three served as Expedition 60-61-62 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

NASA successfully tested the Orion spacecrafts parachute system on March 16, 2018 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. It was the first time engineers intentionally failed one of the systems three Forward Bay Cover parachutes. The Forward Bay Cover protects the upper part of Orion throughout its mission, but must be jettisoned during landing so the rest of Orions parachutes can deploy. Engineers are nearing completion of the series of tests to qualify the parachute system for flights with crew.

S69-22728 (24 Nov. 1969) --- The Apollo 12 Command Module, with astronauts Charles Conrad Jr., Richard F. Gordon Jr., and Alan L. Bean aboard, nears splashdown in the Pacific Ocean to conclude the second lunar landing mission. The Apollo 12 splashdown occurred at 2 58 p.m., Nov. 24, 1969, near American Samoa.

The Soyuz MS-07 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 55 crew members Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Scott Tingle of NASA, and Norishige Kanai of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, June 3, 2018. Shkaplerov, Tingle, and Kanai are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 54 and 55 crews onboard the International Space Station.

Orion's parachutes deploy as it returns to Earth after Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) on Dec. 5, 2014. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

diver blowing bubble ring

NASA successfully tested the Orion spacecrafts parachute system on March 16, 2018 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. It was the first time engineers intentionally failed one of the systems three Forward Bay Cover parachutes. The Forward Bay Cover protects the upper part of Orion throughout its mission, but must be jettisoned during landing so the rest of Orions parachutes can deploy. Engineers are nearing completion of the series of tests to qualify the parachute system for flights with crew.

The Soyuz MS-17 rocket is launched with Expedition 64 Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Ryzhikov, Kud-Sverchkov, and Rubins launched at 1:45 a.m. EDT to begin a six-month mission onboard the International Space Station.

The Soyuz MS-15 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 62 crew members Jessica Meir and Drew Morgan of NASA, and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, Friday, April 17, 2020. Meir and Skripochka returned after 205 days in space, and Morgan after 272 days in space. All three served as Expedition 60-61-62 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

1979 - A left side view of an AGM-109 Tomahawk air-launched cruise missile in flight after release from a B-52 Stratofortress aircraft.

The Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 56 Commander Drew Feustel and Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold of NASA, along with Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. Feustel, Arnold, and Artemyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 55 and 56 crews onboard the International Space Station.

In order to make sure weather conditions are acceptable at multiple altitudes, NASA meteorologists on the ground conduct constant monitoring operations, and launch weather balloons to get accurate data for aircraft and pilot.

The Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 64 crew members Kate Rubins of NASA, Sergey Ryzhikov and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, Saturday, April 17, 2021. Rubins, Ryzhikov and Kud-Sverchkov returned after 185 days in space having served as Expedition 63-64 crew members onboard the International Space Station.

underneith belly under side formation

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 42 commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Elena Serova of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, March 12, 2015. NASA Astronaut Wilmore, Russian Cosmonauts Samokutyaev and Serova are returning after almost six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 41 and 42 crews.

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station.

A view of a deployed AN/ASQ-81 magnetic anomaly detecting gear (MAD) used to locate submerged submarines from low flying aircraft. Country: Unknown

Engineers successfully evaluated a failure scenario of Orions parachute system in which only two of the systems three orange and white main parachutes deploy after several other parachutes in the system used to slow and stabilize Orion endure high aerodynamic stresses ahead of a safe landing. The test occurred Dec. 15, 2017 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. A mock capsule was dropped from a C-17 aircraft at 35,000 feet in altitude to enable the right conditions for the test. It was the fifth of eight tests to qualify Orions parachute system for flights with astronauts beginning with Artemis II.

Earth Observation taken during a day pass by the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Boat and contrail behind it.

A flock of birds takes flight as the orbiter Columbia, with its drag chute deployed, touches down on Runway 33 of KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility to complete the nearly 16-day STS-90 mission. Main gear touchdown was at 12:08:59 p.m. EDT on May 3, 1998, landing on orbit 256 of the mission. The wheels stopped at 12:09:58 EDT, completing a total mission time of 15 days, 21 hours, 50 minutes and 58 seconds. The 90th Shuttle mission was Columbia's 13th landing at the space center and the 43rd KSC landing in the history of the Space Shuttle program. During the mission, the crew conducted research to contribute to a better understanding of the human nervous system. The crew of the STS-90 Neurolab mission include Commander Richard Searfoss; Pilot Scott Altman; Mission Specialists Richard Linnehan, D.V.M., Dafydd (Dave) Williams, M.D., with the Canadian Space Agency, and Kathryn (Kay) Hire; and Payload Specialists Jay Buckey, M.D., and James Pawelczyk, Ph.D

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The Orion boilerplate test vehicle floats in the Pacific Ocean during the third day of Underway Recovery Test 4A. Orion was lowered into the water from the USS Salvor, a safeguard-class rescue and salvage ship, using a stationary crane. Tether lines were attached to the test vehicle from the ship for a towing test. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy are conducting the test to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module on its return from a deep space mission. The underway recovery test allows the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, new hardware and personnel in open waters.The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is conducting the underway recovery test. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space

Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-121

A test version of Orion floats in the Pacific Ocean, ready to be recovered by NASA and the US Navy on Sept. 17, 2014. The combined NASA/Navy team is testing tools and techniques that will be used to retrieve Orion when it splashes down following Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1). Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

The Soyuz MS-11 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 59 crew members Anne McClain of NASA, David Saint-Jacques of the Canadian Space Agency, and Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos, Tuesday, June 25, 2019 Kazakh time (June 24 Eastern time). McClain, Saint-Jacques, and Kononenko are returning after 204 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 58 and 59 crews onboard the International Space Station.

NASA has completes the final test to qualify Orions parachute system for flights with astronauts, checking off an important milestone on the path to send humans on missions to the Moon and beyond on Sept. 12, 2018...Over the course of eight tests at the U.S. Armys Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, engineers have evaluated the performance of Orions parachute system during normal landing sequences as well as several failure scenarios and a variety of potential aerodynamic conditions to ensure astronauts can return safely from deep space missions.

Boeings CST-100 Starliner spacecraft lands at White Sands Missile Ranges Space Harbor, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, in New Mexico. Boeings Orbital Flight Test-2 (OFT-2) is Starliners second uncrewed flight test to the International Space Station as part of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. OFT-2 serves as an end-to-end test of the system's capabilities.

Orion teams perform an Orion Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) drop test using the Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona on Dec. 20, 2012. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander is lifted by crane during a tethered test near a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location at the landing facility to support the next phase of flight testing. The test was performed to verify the lander's recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors and integration systems. During the test, Morpheus was lifted by crane to 20 feet for an engine firing of about 74 seconds and then lowered to the ground. With the successful completion of the test, the Morpheus project team will begin preparing for the first free flight test with ALHAT. Morpheus tests NASAs ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with

S66-34115 (6 June 1966) --- The 72-hour, 21-minute Gemini-9A spaceflight is concluded as the Gemini spacecraft, with astronaut Thomas P. Stafford and Eugene A. Cernan aboard, touches down in the Atlantic Ocean only 3.5 miles from the prime recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Wasp. Gemini-9 splashed down 345 miles east of Cape Kennedy at 9 a.m. (EST), June 6, 1966.

Manned UFO from Coma Berenices, whose occupant talked with Paul Villa for about 15 minutes ; its diameter was about 14 metres 2 of 2 Date: 19 June 1966

NASAs Project Morpheus prototype lander soars 800 feet above the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on free flight test No. 15 at. During the 97-second test, onboard autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology sensors, or ALHAT, surveyed the hazard field for safe landing sites, then guided the lander forward and downward to a successful landing.

Orion teams perform an Orion Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) drop test using the Parachute Test Vehicle (PTV) at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona on Dec. 20, 2012. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.

NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.

Orion Splashdown. At 12:40 p.m. EST, Dec. 11, 2022, NASAs Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission splashed down in the Pacific Ocean after a 25.5 day mission to the Moon. Orion will be recovered by NASAs Landing and Recovery team, U.S. Navy and Department of Defense partners aboard the USS Portland.

ARTIST DON DAVIS PIONEER GALILEO PROBE DESCENDS THROUGH JUPITER'S CLOUDS

After eight months of designing, building and testing, the middle school, high school and college and university teams launched their rockets as part of NASA Student Launch on Sunday, April 8. The rockets and their payloads are designed to fly to 1-mile in altitude before deploying recovery systems that brings them safely to the ground.

NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.

S66-15802 (18 Dec. 1965) --- A camera on a recovery helicopter captured this scene as the Gemini-7 spacecraft slowly descends to the surface of the Atlantic Ocean to conclude a record-breaking 14-day mission in space. Aboard the spacecraft were astronauts Frank Borman, command pilot, and James A. Lovell Jr., pilot. Splashdown was at 9 05 a.m. (EST), Dec. 18, 1965. The two astronauts were hoisted from the water by a helicopter crew and flown to the aircraft carrier.

The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is seen as it lands in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan with Expedition 66 crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, and cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, and Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, Wednesday, March 30, 2022. Vande Hei and Dubrov are returning to Earth after logging 355 days in space as members of Expeditions 64-66 aboard the International Space Station. For Vande Hei, his mission is the longest single spaceflight by a U.S. astronaut in history. Shkaplerov is returning after 176 days in space, serving as a Flight Engineer for Expedition 65 and commander of Expedition 66.

Orions three main orange and white parachutes help a representative model of the spacecraft descend through sky above Arizona, where NASA engineers tested the parachute system on Sept. 13, 2017 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma. NASA is qualifying Orions parachutes for missions with astronauts.. .During this test, engineers replicated a situation in which Orion must abort off the Space Launch System rocket and bypasses part of its normal parachute deployment sequence that typically helps the spacecraft slow down during its descent to Earth after deep space missions. The capsule was dropped out of a C-17 aircraft at more than 4.7 miles in altitude and allowed to free fall for 20 seconds, longer than ever before, to produce high aerodynamic pressure before only its pilot and main parachutes were deployed, testing whether they could perform as expected under extreme loads. Orions full parachute system includes 11 total parachutes -- three forward bay cover parachutes and two drogue

During the first 25 seconds after NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander deploys its parachute, the spacecraft will jettison its heat shield and extend its three legs.

The Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman in a remote area southeast of the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Tuesday, May 24, 2011. NASA Astronaut Coleman, Russian Cosmonaut Kondratyev and Italian Astronaut Nespoli are returning from more than five months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 26 and 27 crews.

NASA image captured December 25, 2011 A NASA scientific balloon awaits launch in McMurdo, Antarctica. The balloon, carrying Indiana University's Cosmic Ray Electron Synchrotron Telescope (CREST), was launched on December 25. After a circum-navigational flight around the South Pole, the payload landed on January 5. The CREST payload is one of two scheduled as part of this seasons' annual NASA Antarctic balloon Campaign which is conducted in cooperation with the National Science Foundation's Office of Polar Programs. The campaign's second payload is the University of Arizona's Stratospheric Terahertz Observatory (STO). You can follow the flights at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's web site at a href= http //www.csbf.nasa.gov/antarctica/ice.htm rel= nofollow www.csbf.nasa.gov/antarctica/ice.htm /a

Orions three main orange and white parachutes help a representative model of the spacecraft descend through sky above Arizona, where NASA engineers tested the parachute system on Sept. 13, 2017 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma. NASA is qualifying Orions parachutes for missions with astronauts.. .During this test, engineers replicated a situation in which Orion must abort off the Space Launch System rocket and bypasses part of its normal parachute deployment sequence that typically helps the spacecraft slow down during its descent to Earth after deep space missions. The capsule was dropped out of a C-17 aircraft at more than 4.7 miles in altitude and allowed to free fall for 20 seconds, longer than ever before, to produce high aerodynamic pressure before only its pilot and main parachutes were deployed, testing whether they could perform as expected under extreme loads. Orions full parachute system includes 11 total parachutes -- three forward bay cover parachutes and two drogue

Telescope pointing to blue sky with flock of birds, symbolic image hobby birdwatching, nature observation

NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.

NASA test pilots perform the quiet supersonic dive maneuver off the coast of Galveston, Texas to create a quieter version of the sonic boom, in order to obtain recruited community survey feedback data. The test pilot climbs to around 50,000 feet, followed by a supersonic, inverted dive. This creates sonic boom shockwaves in a way that they are quieter in a specific area. Meanwhile, NASA researchers match community feedback to the sound levels of the flights, using an electronic survey and microphone monitor stations on the ground. This is preparing NASA for community response models for the future X-59 QueSST.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The first free flight of the Project Morpheus prototype lander was conducted at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Smoke filled the air as the engine fired and the Morpheus lander launched from the ground over a flame trench. During the 54-second test, it ascended approximately 50 feet, and hovered for about 15 seconds. The lander then flew forward and landed on its pad about 23 feet from the launch point. Testing of the prototype lander was performed at NASAs Johnson Space Center in Houston in preparation for tethered and free flight testing at Kennedy. Project Morpheus integrates NASAs automated landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, with an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to asteroids and other planetary surfaces.The landing facility will provide the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, co

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- Stephen Ezell, meteorological systems operator at Weather Station A, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, releases a weather balloon. Such balloons are released twice a day. The package at the bottom is a radio sonde that collects temperature and humidity data as the balloon rises. The data is released to agencies nationwide, including the 45th Space Wing, which uses the data for its daily weather reports. The weather station provides additional data to NASA for launches -- releasing 12 balloons in eight hours prior to liftoff - and landings - releasing 5 balloons in six and a half hours before expected touchdown.

DELAMAR DRY LAKE BED, Nev. - An Erickson Sky Crane helicopter releases The Boeing Company's CST-100 crew capsule over the Delamar Dry Lake Bed near Alamo, Nev., where it floated to a smooth landing beneath its parachute system. This is the second parachute test that Boeing performed under its partnership with NASA's Commercial Crew Program CCP. The first showed the parachute systems deployment scheme worked and that it could be re-packed and re-used for this second test. In 2011, NASA selected Boeing during Commercial Crew Development Round 2 CCDev2) activities to mature the design and development of a crew transportation system with the overall goal of accelerating a United States-led capability to the International Space Station. The goal of CCP is to drive down the cost of space travel as well as open up space to more people than ever before by balancing industrys own innovative capabilities with NASA's 50 years of human spaceflight experience. Six other aerospace companies a

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