Astronauts

The Russian cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Alexander Skvortsov and the American astronaut Steve Swanson assisted after they landed in the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft (Image NASA TV)

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A few hours ago, the American astronaut Steve Swanson and the Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov and Oleg Artemyev returned to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft, which landed safely in Kazakhstan. The three of them spent almost exactly six months on the International Space Station, where they arrived on March 28, 2014 Initially, they were part of Expedition 39, in the second half of their stay they were part of Expedition 40 with Steve Swanson as commander of the Station.

Steven Nagel's NASA official photo

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On Thursday August 21, 2014 the former astronaut Steven Nagel passed away due to cancer. He’s survived by his wife Linda M. Godwin, also a former astronaut, and their two daughters. In 1985, he was part of the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery in the STS-51-G mission. In 1985, he was part of the crew of the Space Shuttle Challenger in its last completed mission, the STS-61-A commanded by Hank Hartsfield. In 1991, he was the commander of the crew of the Space Shuttle Atlantis in the STS-37 mission. In 1993, he was the commander of the crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia in the STS-55 mission.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, Apollo astronauts Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Jim Lovell, and Center Director Robert Cabana in front of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building (Photo NASA/Kevin O’Connell)

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Yesterday at Kennedy Space Center among the many celebrations for the 45th anniversary of the first human landing on the Moon, there was a ceremony that honored Neil Armstrong renaming after him a historic building in the Center so far known as the Operations and Checkout Building. It was there that Armstrong and the other astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission got ready for launch.

Henry Warren "Hank" Hartsfield, Jr. in an official picture as an astronaut (Photo NASA)

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The former American astronaut Hank Hartsfield passed away yesterday, July 17, 2014, due to complications from the back surgery he had several months ago. Hank Hartsfield flew on the Space Shuttle Columbia in the STS-4 mission, on the Space Shuttle Discovery on the STS-41-D mission and on the Space Shuttle Challenger in the STS-61-A mission.