ORBITAL'S CYGNUS SUCCESSFULLY BERTHED ON THE ISS - Orbital's Cygnus spacecraft made its second attempt to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday morning, resulting in a successful capture and berthing by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). A week has passed since a discrepancy in the GPS data between the ISS and Cygnus resulted in the need to delay rendezvous and berthing, allowing Orbital controllers to uplink a line of code into the spacecraft's software.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 29)

CANADIAN SPACE AGENCY SATELLITE TO LAUNCH ON A SPACEX ROCKET THIS WEEKEND - After several delays, CASSIOPE is set to rocket into orbit around 16:00 Universal Time/ 9:00 AM Pacific time on Sept. 29. The launch was postponed earlier this month on Sept. 13 for SpaceX to complete tests on its modified Falcon 9 version 1.1 rocket, after a static fire on Sept. 12 revealed technical issues. The launch was also delayed by several Minuteman III ICBM tests being conducted this week from Vandenberg by the USAF, the latest of which is set to occur early Thursday morning at 3:01-9:01 AM Pacific Time.   More
(Source: Canada.com - Sep 28)

PRIVATE CYGNUS SPACECRAFT'S 1ST SPACE STATION ARRIVAL SET FOR SUNDAY AFTER DELAY - A commercial cargo vessel's historic first arrival at the International Space Station is now set for Sunday (Sept. 29), one week later than originally planned, NASA officials say. The unmanned Cygnus spacecraft, built by Virginia-based company Orbital Sciences, is expected to be grabbed by the orbiting lab's huge robotic arm at 7:15 a.m. EDT (1115 GMT) on Sunday, with docking operations beginning two hours later. You can watch all the action live here at SPACE.com, courtesy of NASA TV; coverage begins at 4:30 a.m. EDT.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 28)

SOYUZ TMA-10M DOCKS WITH THE ISS - Another three crewmembers were sent on their way to the International Space Station (ISS), following their launch on Soyuz TMA-10M from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday. NASA’s Michael Hopkins, along with Russia’s Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy took just under six hours to arrive at the Station, as the fast rendezvous technique was once again employed in their flight profile.   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 26)

SATELLITE LAUNCH DELAY EXTENDS TIME WITH NO BACKUP - A six-month launch delay for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's next-generation geostationary satellites could mean the agency will violate its policy of always having a backup weather satellite in orbit. NOAA has two operational geostationary satellites providing large-scale imagery of the east and west U.S. coastlines from orbits 22,000 miles above the Earth, and a backup through its Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) program.    More
(Source: FCW.com - Sep 26)

SOYUZ SENDS ASTRONAUTS TO INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION - Two Russians and an American have blasted off in a Soyuz rocket bound for the International Space Station. Michael Hopkins, Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky took off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on Wednesday. They will join European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano, who has spoken to the BBC about a dramatic leak in his helmet during a spacewalk in July.   More
(Source: BBC News - Sep 26)

SPACE STATION TRAFFIC JAM DELAYS 1ST ARRIVAL OF NEW PRIVATE CYGNUS SPACECRAFT - The first arrival of a brand-new commercial cargo ship at the International Space Station has been delayed until no earlier than Saturday (Sept. 28) to make way for a new crew launching to the orbiting lab this week, NASA officials say. The unmanned Cygnus spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences Corp. — which launched into orbit on Sept. 18 — was initially expected to link up with the station on Sunday (Sept. 22), but a software glitch forced controllers to abort the arrival and wait at least 48 hours for the next attempt.   More
(Source: Space.com - Sep 24)

CHINESE LONG MARCH 4C LAUNCHES THIRD FENGYUN-3 SATELLITE - China launched its third Fengyun-3 polar orbiting meteorological satellite on Monday via a Long March 4C. Launch took place at 03:07UTC from the LC9 Launch Complex of the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, Shanxi Province. Operated by the CMA (China Meteorological Administration) and NSMC (National Satellite Meteorological Center), the FY-3 series represents the second generation of Chinese polar-orbiting meteorological satellites and are cooperative program between CMA and CNSA (China National Space Administration).   More
(Source: NASASpaceFlight.com - Sep 24)

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)

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