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Stratolaunch and Orbital – The Height of Air Launch


New details into the Stratolaunch system have revealed an exciting pairing of a huge carrier aircraft and a highly capable Orbital rocket nicknamed Pegasus II. The “Any Time,…

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Bolden meets Dream Chaser ETA ahead of her Dryden tests


NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden met with the Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) team and their Dream Chaser ETA (Engineering Test Article) at the Dryden Flight Research Center in California…

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UK’s Major Peake delighted by historic ISS assignment


British astronaut Major Timothy Peake is to become the first British government-sponsored astronaut to fly on the International Space Station (ISS), following his assignment to a long-duration mission…

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From Atlas V to Falcon XX – Commercial suitors wanted for Pad 39A


The mothballed Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) began looking towards the future on Friday, after NASA issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) from the commercial…

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McAlister Discusses Commercial Crew Certification


In a recent presentation to the human exploration and operations committee of the NASA Advisory Counsel (NAC), Phil McAlister, Director of the Commercial Spaceflight Development discussed the next…

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No return of the leak – ISS teams clear concern as false signature


The International Station Station (ISS) team have confirmed they still have an air tight cooling system on the P6 Truss Photo Voltaic Thermal Control System (PVTCS), following the…

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Soyuz TMA-07M returns ISS crew to Earth


The Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft has returned to Earth after undocking from the International Space Station (ISS) on Monday. The Russian vehicle was carrying a three person crew that…

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Dream Chaser ETA heads to Dryden for drop tests


Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) have shipped their Dream Chaser ETA (Engineering Test Article) to the Dryden Flight Research Center in California. The vehicle will be prepared for a…

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Successful EVA likely to have resolved ammonia leak


Spacewalkers Chris Cassidy (EV-1) and Tom Marshburn (EV-2) ventured outside of the Quest Airlock on Saturday, in search of the source of an ammonia leak. The duo investigated…

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Ammonia leak on ISS prompts contingency spacewalks


A sudden increase in a previously small ammonia leak in the coolant lines of a power channel on the outside of the International Space Station (ISS) has prompted…

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A return to the Moon would send NASA back to square one – Bolden


NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has strongly ruled out missions to land on the Moon as part of NASA’s exploration roadmap, claiming any future political re-direction to return humans…

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Cygnus ISS debut provisionally moved to September


The debut mission for Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft – known as ORB-D – is now tracking a provisional launch date of September 28. The slip relates to an engine…

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Full steam ahead for ATK’s SLS booster drive


ATK are making good progress on both the initial five segment boosters, set to launch with the opening launches of the Space Launch System (SLS), and the Advanced…

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NASA’s Commercial Crew Catch 22 as another $424m heads to Russia


NASA administrator Charlie Bolden emphasized the need for Congress to fully support funding for the Agency’s Commercial Crew Program, after signing a $424m extension for the use of…

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First powered flight success for SpaceShipTwo


Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo (SS2) finally conducted its debut powered flight on Monday, paving the way towards its space tourism aspirations. The historic milestone was conducted high over the…

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Europe’s ATV-4 prepares for launch amid contributions to future exploration


Europe’s latest space freighter, the Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4), is currently undergoing preparations for a realigned launch date following the replacement of a faulty unit inside the spacecraft….

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Gerstenmaier expands on recently announced asteroid mission


In a recent presentation to the human exploration and operations committee of the NASA Advisory Counsel (NAC), William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate,…

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ASAP pleased with reformulated forward path for JWST


NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) members were provided with an updated status review of the progress being made on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) this month….

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Antares conducts a flawless maiden launch


Orbital Sciences Corporation have – at the third launch attempt – launched their new Antares rocket’s maiden flight on Sunday. Following two scrubs over the past few days,…

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Cosmonauts successfully conclude Russian spacewalk


Two Russian cosmonauts have been hard at work outside the International Space Station (ISS) on Friday, conducting a spacewalk for the purposes of routine maintenance on the Russian…