CYGNUS RENDEZVOUS ABORTED DUE TO DATA LINK ISSUE - A commercial Cygnus cargo spacecraft, owned and operated by Orbital Sciences Corp., aborted its rendezvous with the International Space Station on Sunday after the automated spaceship encountered a data glitch before commencing final approach. The Cygnus resupply vehicle flew about 2.5 miles below the space station and will set up its trajectory to try to approach the complex again early Tuesday. Loaded with more than 1,500 pounds of food, computer equipment, spare parts and student experiments, the unmanned cargo freighter was supposed to close in on the space station with GPS and laser navigation aids and move into position about 30 feet below the outpost, close enough for the station's robotic arm to reach out and grapple the free-floating Cygnus spacecraft. More (Source: SpaceFlight Now - Sep 22)
THIRD ADVANCED EHF SATELLITE LAUNCHED - The U.S. Air Force successfully launched the third Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF-3) communication satellite at 4:10 a.m. EDT, Sept. 18, from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The satellite was carried to orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launch vehicle. The satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle approximately 51 minutes after liftoff and will now undergo approximately 110 days of orbit-raising operations, followed by approximately 60 days of on-orbit testing. More (Source: Sacramento Bee - Sep 20)
PRIVATE CYGNUS SPACECRAFT LAUNCHES ON MAIDEN SPACE STATION VOYAGE - An untested commercial spacecraft blasted off on its first trek to the International Space Station today (Sept. 18), kicking off a major demonstration mision for its Virginia-based builders and NASA. The unmanned Cygnus spacecraft and its Antares rocket soared into orbit with a tremendous roar at 10:58 a.m. EDT (1458 GMT) today from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility here — a huge success for the commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences Corp., which built both vehicles. The spacecraft is now chasing the space station and is due to arrive early Sunday (Sept. 22), when it will be captured by astronauts using the outpost's robotic arm. More (Source: Space.com - Sep 18)
NASA CLEARS ORBITAL SCIENCES FOR TEST FLIGHT TO SPACE STATION - NASA on Monday cleared a second commercial company to launch a cargo ship to the International Space Station, with blastoff slated this week from a Virginia spaceport. If successful, Orbital Sciences Corp. would join privately owned Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, in flying supplies to the space station, a $100 billion research complex that orbits about 250 miles above Earth. More (Source: Reuters - Sep 18)
U.S. AIR FORCE'S THIRD AEHF SATELLITE ENCAPSULATED FOR LAUNCH - The U.S. Air Force's third Advanced Extremely High Frequency communications satellite, built to connect military commanders and government leadership in the event of a nuclear catastrophe, is poised to blast off Sept. 18 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket. Built by Lockheed Martin Corp., the 13,600-pound satellite was encapsulated inside the Atlas 5's five-meter-diameter payload... More (Source: Spaceflight Now - Sep 16)
SPACE STATION’S ORBIT TO BE RAISED AHEAD OF CREW ARRIVAL - The orbit of the International Space Station (ISS) will be raised on Sunday by nearly one kilometer to ensure safe docking of a Russian spacecraft with new crew members, a spokesman for the Russian space agency said. Russia’s mission control center will adjust the ISS orbit by switching on thrusters of Europe’s Europe’s ATV-4 “Albert Einstein” resupply spacecraft currently docked with the station. More (Source: RIA Novosti - Sep 16)
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION CARGO SHIP DEMO LAUNCH FROM VA POSTPONED BY AT LEAST 24 HOURS - The planned launch of a ship from Virginia to the International Space Station is being postponed by at least 24 hours. Dulles-based Orbital Sciences Corp. says that poor weather delayed Friday’s roll-out of its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft. A technical issue also was identified during a systems test. More (Source: The Washington Post - Sep 16)
JAPAN LAUNCHES LEANER SPACE PROGRAM - Japan launched the first of its new-generation rocket Epsilon on Saturday, in a project aimed at bringing space satellites closer to everyday lives. The new solid-fuel rocket flew into the sky at 2 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET) with a roaring sound, emitting an orange flame and white smoke. Designed to deliver smaller satellites more cheaply into space, the first Epsilon successfully carried a planet observation satellite, Sprint-A, into planned orbit. More (Source: Wall Street Journal - Sep 16)
U OF C'S CASSIOPE SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAYED - The launch of a Canadian satellite the University of Calgary had a hand in developing has been postponed. Cassiope, or the Cascade SmallSat and Ionospheric Polar Explorer, was scheduled to be launched from California aboard a rocket but a test Friday showed the satellite wasn't quite ready to go. The satellite's mission has been developed by the Canadian Space Agency together with several research organizations and 10 Canadian universities. More (Source: CBC.ca - Sep 16)
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