Astronauts aboard the International Space Station Sunday used a robotic arm to capture and attach the Cygnus supply spacecraft, which carried dozens of new science experiments from across the country and the world to the orbiting laboratory. The arrival capped the first successful contracted cargo delivery by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., for NASA.
Virgin Galactic Reaches New Heights in Third Supersonic Test Flight
Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline, which is owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, successfully completed the third rocket-powered supersonic flight of its passenger carrying reusable space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2). In command on the flight deck of SS2 for the first time under rocket power was Virgin […]
SpaceX Manifest Grows With JCSAT 14 Launch Contract
Fresh off its second successful launch of a commercial communication satellite, SpaceX announced January 10 that the company won another lucrative launch contract. SpaceX’s newest customer is SKY Perfect JSAT Corporation of Japan, who have contracted to launch the JCSAT-14 communications satellite to a geostationary transfer orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket in the second […]
NASA, White House Discuss ISS Life Extension At International Space Exploration Forum
Speaking at a global space exploration forum Thursday, John P. Holdren, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, explained the importance of President Obama’s decision to extend International Space Station (ISS) operations until at least 2024. Holdren discussed the ISS extension plan at the International Space Exploration Forum (ISEF) in Washington, […]
NASA Powers Up SLS Avionics For The First Time
The modern avionics system that will guide NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built, has seen the light. The flight software and avionics for SLS were integrated and powered for testing Thursday at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., as part of a milestone known as first light.
Antares Blasts Off With Cygnus On First Contracted ISS Resupply Mission
Marking the beginning of regular supply runs to the International Space Station, Orbital Sciences Corporation sucessfully launched its Cygnus cargo craft aboard Antares rocket January 9 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. Following a delay of several days due to record-breaking cold and a powerful solar flare, Antares blasted off on […]
Antares Set For Chilly Launch To Space Station
1/8/14 7:00 am EST UPDATE: Early this morning the Antares launch team decided to scrub today’s launch attempt due to an unusually high level of space radiation that exceeded by a considerable margin the constraints imposed on the mission to ensure the rocket’s electronic systems are not impacted by a harsh radiation environment. The solar […]
SpaceX Rings In The New Year With Launch Of Thai Satellite
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral for the second time in just over one month today, demonstrating the shortest pad turnaround for the spaceport in over a decade. Making its third flight in the upgraded v1.1 configuration, the rocket successfully placed a communication satellite into geostationary transfer orbit for Thaicom Plc, […]
SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Poised For First Launch Of New Year
Looking to start 2014 with a roar, SpaceX is gearing up to launch a Falcon 9 rocket carrying a Thai communication satellite January 6 from Cape Canaveral. The launch comes just over one month since the last Falcon 9 mission, also a commercial launch from Florida and signifies the intensity with which SpaceX is solidifying […]
Photo Feature: NASA Readies TDRS-L Spacecraft For Late January Launch
NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)-L was the focus of a media opportunity Januar 3, at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, FL. Media viewed the TDRS-L spacecraft and interviewed project and launch program officials from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; the Launch Services Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space […]