Tag: COTS
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Orbital’s Cygnus debut mission to the ISS outlined
With one half of the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) puzzle enjoying a fully successful test flight, Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft is closing in on its own debut attempt to visit the International Space Station (ISS) later this year. In a mission that is surprisingly similar to that undertaken by SpaceX’s Dragon, the success of Cygnus should…
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NASA FRR tentatively sets April 30 for Dragon’s first flight to fully prepared ISS
For the first time in history, NASA’s extensive Flight Readiness Review (FRR) process has concluded that a privately-owned spacecraft is tentatively cleared to visit the International Space Station (ISS). With a launch date still tracking April 30, the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will lift off toward a space station that is now fully prepared to extend a…
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SpaceX team conduct successful Falcon 9 WDR ahead of Dragon’s ISS debut
The SpaceX team conducted a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) on their Falcon 9 launch vehicle at Cape Canaveral on Thursday. The Launch Readiness Test was a major milestone ahead of the launch vehicle’s role to loft Dragon into orbit and en route to the International Space Station (ISS) late in April. SpaceX Falcon 9…
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Dragon ISS flight slips – SpaceX determined to return US crewed access to LEO
SpaceX’s next Falcon 9 flight with the Dragon spaceship – a mission which is expected to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) – is slipping in order to allow for due diligence “safety checks” ahead of launch. SpaceX’s decision to slip what was a February 7 launch came after comments noting their sense of…
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ASAP want NASA to avoid “going native” with CCP partners – SpaceX Latest
NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) have recommended that NASA personnel embedded at commercial companies should be rotated, in order to avoid them “going native”, which they fear threatens rule bending as the teams’ working relationship becomes closer over time. Meanwhile, SpaceX are waiting on decision to see if they can combine their next two…
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Orbital’s Cygnus preparing for the opening salvo to regain US independence
While Russian engineers continue to investigate the failure of their Progress M-12M, which crashed in Eastern Russia on Wednesday, half a world away Orbital welcomed their first pressurized cargo module (PCM) for its Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, in preparation for leading the charge of America’s own commercial cargo…
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ISS managers evaluating SpaceX via safety reviews ahead of debut arrival
In what will be a major milestone, not only for SpaceX, but for the entire space program, International Space Station (ISS) teams are working through the long list of safety requirements to approve Dragon’s debut ‘test’ mission to the orbital outpost. Several specific areas of interest are in work, including ongoing evaluations into the potential…
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SpaceX and Orbital win huge CRS contract from NASA
SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corporation have been awarded the lucrative Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, with SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp.) earning 12 missions, and Orbital winning another eight missions. The details of the award – worth up to 3.5 billion dollars – equates to Orbital winning 54 percent of the funding. PlanetSpace Inc lose out on the award.…
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Elon Musk Q and A – Updates SpaceX status on Falcon and Dragon
Elon Musk, CEO of Space Exploration Technologies – commonly known as SpaceX – has given NASASpaceflight.com an exclusive interview, in which he updates the status of their Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, along with their push towards the debut of their Dragon manned spacecraft. Musk speaks candidly about the challenges involved with taking…
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Rocketplane Kistler press on despite COTS notice
Rocketplane Kistler (RpK) was officially notified by NASA on Friday that they had failed to complete two COTS milestones. Sources from both NASA and RpK have confirmed that the letter does NOT represent a final decision by NASA to terminate the company’s COTS contract. Meanwhile, RpK are pressing on with the a new configuration of…