Starliner, Starship, and Chang'e, a week of good space news

This has been a good week in space for the U.S. and China, which makes it a welcome change of pace from the news here on Earth. After all, I can't be all DOOM all the time! I begin the stories of success with CNN reporting Boeing spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts lifts off in historic launch.

A Boeing spacecraft carrying two NASA astronauts is on its historic maiden voyage. The landmark launch kicked off the first crewed test flight of the capsule and marked the culmination of a long and trying development process.

It's been six years since I posted Commercial spaceflight crews announced and testing for return to Moon as NASA celebrates its 60th anniversary, so it's been quite a wait to get both vehicles off the ground. Yes, SpaceX launched the first crewed mission from U.S. soil since 2011 almost exactly four years ago, but Dragon wasn't supposed to be the only American crewed capsule operating. It's good to have an alternative.

Starliner also passed another important milestone, as CNN showed in Boeing Starliner docks with space station after encountering new issues.

Boeing’s Starliner mission has safely docked with the International Space Station after navigating new issues that cropped up overnight en route to the orbiting laboratory. CNN's Kristin Fisher reports.

Not only am I happy that Starliner successfully docked with the ISS, I'm glad for the astronauts and cosmonauts on the station that they'll be able to recycle their water. I often jokingly gross out my environmental science students by calling water recycling "toilet-to-tap," but in this case it's not only justified, but necessary.

Speaking of SpaceX, Kristin Fisher mentioned the Starship test flight in the first video. WSJ News covered that event as it told its viewers : SpaceX’s Starship Successfully Completes Re-entry and Splashdown.

SpaceX achieved a new milestone with its mega Starship rocket, after both the booster and the spacecraft made controlled returns to Earth.

I watched the re-entry live and was amazed that Starship successfully splashed down after one of its flight control surfaces burned through but remained attached. Like the proverbial honey badger, the spaceship didn't seem to care!

China also reported a success, which DW News shared in China's Chang'e 6 mission travels back to earth from the dark side of the moon.

China’s Chang’e lunar probe has taken off from the far side of the moon to return back to earth, according to China’s national space agency. If China successfully makes it back to earth, it will be the first country to have gathered samples from the far side of the moon. China’s previous lunar mission, Chang’e 5, gathered samples from the near side of the moon, but collecting samples from the far side has required additional technical know-how as well as operating on more challenging terrain. According to the China National Space Administration (CNSA), Chang’e 6 “withstood the test of high temperature on the far side of the moon."

We have a space race!

I expect to report more on the return to the Moon on Moon Day and recap these missions in this year's edition of 2023 in space. In the meantime, stay tuned for World Oceans Day.