We have received word that Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo failed and crashed today during a powered test flight. Reports are that one pilot did not survive and one injured with an unknown status. This has to be confirmed still. Reports from eyewitnesses say that the engine burn did not go smoothly and the engine either exploded […]
Antares Explodes, ISS Cargo Lost In Launch Failure
Launch of the Cygnus spacecraft was supposed to be the start of the third of Orbital Science Corporation’s eight NASA-contracted resupply missions to the International Space Station. Instead, Orbital and NASA are left picking up this pieces today after the company’s Antares rocket erupted into a roiling ball of fire after liftoff that consumed the […]
Atlas V Racks Up 50th Success With Launch of GPS IIF-8 For U.S. Air Force
A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket successfully launched the eighth Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF-8 satellite for the U.S. Air Force at 1:21 p.m. EDT today from Space Launch Complex-41. This is ULA’s 12th launch in 2014, and the 89th successful launch since the company was formed in December 2006. “ULA is honored […]
Hurricane Gonzalo Delays NASA’s Latest Cargo Run To ISS
Already delayed several times, the launch of an Orbital Sciences Antares rocket from Wallops Flight Facility, VA was pushed back again today due to the expected passage of a powerful hurricane over a critical downrange tracking asset. Hurricane Gonzalo is forecsat to make a direct hit on the Atlantic island of Bermuda in the next […]
Photo Feature: Melbourne Air & Space Show
“We are thrilled by the turnout on Saturday for the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and are making accommodations to make sure everyone gets a chance to see these amazing pilots do what they do best,” said Bryan Lilley, Chairman of the National Air, Sea & Space Foundation and event organizer.
JPL Selects CubeSat Proposals for Europa Clipper Mission Study
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, has chosen proposals from 10 universities to study CubeSat concepts that could enhance a Europa mission concept currently under study by NASA. The CubeSat concepts will be incorporated into a JPL study describing how small probes could be carried as auxiliary payloads. The CubeSats would then be released […]
Looking To The Future, Delta IV Rocket For Orion First Flight Reaches The Launch Pad
A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket stands on the launch pad today, marking a critical and historic milestone of NASA’s plan to launch the first Orion spacecraft later this year. Overnight, workers from Delta IV manufacturer United Launch Alliance rolled the massive three-core booster – minus the upper stage and Orion – from […]
India, U.S. To Collaborate On Earth Obsevation, Mars Missions
In a meeting Tuesday in Toronto, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), signed two documents to launch a NASA-ISRO satellite mission to observe Earth and establish a pathway for future joint missions to explore Mars. While attending the International Astronautical Congress, the two space agency leaders […]
Sierra Nevada Targets Air-Launch With Stratolaunch Partnership
Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) today announced a design for an integrated system for human spaceflight that can be launched to low Earth orbit (LEO) using Stratolaunch Systems’ air launch architecture and a scale version of SNC’s Dream Chaser® spacecraft. The Dream Chaser is a reusable, lifting-body spacecraft capable of crewed or autonomous flight. Dream Chaser […]
ATK Test Fires Igniter For Orion Launch Abort System Motor
NASA and ATK successfully completed a static test of the launch abort motor igniter for the Orion crew capsule’s Launch Abort System (LAS). Conducted at ATK’s facility in Promontory, Utah, this test is the next step toward qualifying the igniter for production. ATK’s launch abort motor igniter for the Orion crew capsule’s Launch Abort System […]









