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“Old Reliable” Delta II Orbits First Of A Kind Soil Moisture Mapping Spacecraft

Blazing a trail through a cloudy California morning, a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket successfully deployed NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP spacecraft into polar orbit this morning on one of the venerable launch vehicle’s final missions. After delays this week due to strong high altitude winds, Delta blasted off at 6:22 a.m. PST […]

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy is in the final stages of processing for NASA's Orion EFT-1 mission in December. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero G News
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Delta IV Processing Nearly Complete For Historic EFT-1 Mission

Engineers took another step forward in preparations for the first test flight of NASA’s new Orion spacecraft, in December. The three primary core elements of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket recently were integrated, forming the first stage of the launch vehicle that will send Orion far from Earth to allow NASA […]

Model of BE-4 engine. Photo Credit: ULA
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United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin To Develop RD-180 Alternative

Facing pressure to find a domestic replacement for the Russian-built RD-180 liquid fuel rocket engine that powers the Atlas V EELV, United Launch Alliance and Blue Origin announced today the formation of a partnership to develop an innovative new large liquid rocket engine in the United States. Once in production, the new engine will power […]

The fully-assembled Orion EFT-1 spacecraft is revealed for the first time. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero-G News
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NASA Rolls Out First Orion Spacecraft For December EFT-1 Test Flight

NASA is making steady progress on its Orion spacecraft, completing several milestones this week at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for the capsule’s first trip to space in December. Engineers finished building the Orion crew module, attached it and the already-completed service module to the adapter that will join Orion to its […]

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Delta II Returns To Service To Launch NASA’s First Carbon Monitoring Spacecraft

Following a one-day delay to fix a balky water valve on its launch pad, the Delta II launch vehicle returned to service early Wednesday morning with a fiery nighttime ascent from California on a mission to deploy NASA’s first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide. The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) will join a […]

Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers attach the heat shield to the Orion crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper
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Orion Receives Heat Shield For Late 2014 EFT-1 Test Flight

Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers attach the heat shield to the Orion crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers have installed the largest heat shield ever constructed on the crew module of the agency’s Orion spacecraft. […]