Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced that the company has successfully completed all milestones under NASA’s Commercial Crew Development 2 (CCDev2) phase. Milestones achieved include a systems requirement review, flight simulator development, creation of a vehicle avionics integration laboratory, system definition review, flight control integration laboratory, preliminary design review and the first free-flight test of […]
Launches
Aerojet Rocketdyne Completes Launch Abort Engine Testing for Boeing CST-100 Spacecraft
Aerojet Rocketdyne announced today that it completed development testing of a flight-like Launch Abort Engine (LAE) for an innovative “pusher” launch abort system on The Boeing Company’s CST-100 spacecraft. The launch abort engine is a critical component of future commercial crew transportation to low-Earth orbit. A pusher launch abort system “pushes” or propels a spacecraft […]
Balky Station Cooling Pump Creates Delay, Uncertainty For Cygnus Resupply Mission
NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. Saturday moved the targeted launch date of the Orbital-1 resupply mission to the International Space Station to no earlier than Thursday, Dec. 19 to enable engineers to continue their analysis of data involving a suspect Flow Control Valve in a pump module on the starboard truss of the station that […]
SpaceX Gains Advantage Over Blue Origin In Fight For Former Shuttle Launch Pad
Government Accountability Office denies Blue Origin’s protest over fairness of NASA’s selection process for new user of Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39-A “On Dec. 12, 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) notified NASA that it had denied a protest filed against the Agency by Blue Origin LLC on Sept. 13, 2013. In its […]
NASA’s Morpheus Lander Returns To Flight At Kennedy Space Center
Rebuilt and better than ever, NASA’s Morpheus prototype lander successfully flew its first free-flight test at Kennedy Space Center today. Stationed on custom-built launch pad, Morpheus ignited its environmentally-friends oxygen and methane powered engine at approximately 1:30 p.m. EST for a short test hop to check out its systems before the Morpheus Team undertakes more […]
Proton Notches Another Success With Launch Of Inmarsat-5 F1
An International Launch Services (ILS) Proton Breeze M successfully placed the Inmarsat-5 F1 (I-5 F1) satellite into a super-synchronous (geo-stationary) transfer orbit (SSTO) today. The spacecraft was launched for Inmarsat, the leading provider of global mobile satellite communications services. I-5 F1 is the first of three Inmarsat next-generation Global Xpress® satellites scheduled to launch before […]
Atlas V Lofts Top-Secret Satellite, 12 CubeSats For NASA And Education
A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) lifted off from Space Launch Complex-3 at Vandenber AFC on Dec. 5 at 11:14 p.m. PST. Designated NROL-39, the mission is in support of national defense and also carried several secondary CubeSat payloads for government and civilian customers.
SpaceX Reaches Milestone With Falcon 9 Launch Of Commercial Satellite
Making its commercial debut, an upgraded Falcon 9 rocket blasted away from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral today on SpaceX’s first mission to deliver a satellite to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Deploying a communications satellite for SES S.A., the launch marks a significant milestone for the once upstart company’s pursuit of the commercial […]
China Successfully Launches First Lunar Lander Chang’e 3
A Long March 3B rocket blasted off from the mountains of southern China today, carrying with it the first spacecraft intended to land on the Moon since 1976 (the Soviet Union’s Luna 24). Nestled inside the Chang’e 3 spacecraft is a 260 pound rover named Yutu, China’s first land-mobile explorer. Chang’e 3 follows the country’s […]
SpaceX Targets Thanksgiving For Inaugural Falcon 9 GTO Mission
SpaceX is hoping for a special Thanksgiving after the maiden flight of the company’s upgraded Falcon 9 rocket was scrubbed in its first launch attempt today. It would mark the first Thanksgiving Day space launch from Cape Canaveral since 1959. SpaceX hopes to have better luck than NASA did on that day – that launch […]