2014

Video: Learn about the Orion flight test launching in December

Japanese satellites launched on Soviet-era missile

A decommissioned Soviet-era ballistic missile -- adapted for space launches instead of nuclear war -- rocketed out of an underground silo and sent five Japanese Earth observing satellites into orbit.

Delta 4 passes countdown rehearsal before Orion launch

A countdown dress rehearsal and rocket fueling exercise was completed at Cape Canaveral for next month's launch of NASA's Orion crew module atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy booster.

Engineers recommend changes to Orion heat shield

Lessons learned during preparations leading up to the first orbital test flight of NASA's Orion spacecraft in December have prompted engineers to recommend changing the design of the crew capsule's heat shield for future missions to the moon, Mars, or an asteroid, according to Lockheed Martin officials.

Soil moisture mapper fueled for January launch

NASA's innovative soil moisture mapper, a new environmental satellite launching in January, has been fueled up for blastoff from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Engine turbopump eyed in Antares launch failure

With investigators zeroing in on a decades-old rocket engine as the cause of a catastrophic launch mishap, Orbital Sciences officials said the company plans to use other launchers to send cargo to the International Space Station while modifying its Antares rocket with a new propulsion system.

NTSB provides timeline of SpaceShipTwo mishap

Just 13 seconds after Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo began a rocket-powered test flight -- and just five seconds after its innovative aero-braking system was inadvertently deployed at supersonic speeds -- the spaceplane apparently broke up, killing one pilot and injuring another, according to a National Transportation Safety Board timeline.

Station astronaut calls private spaceflight ‘next breakthrough’

Space station astronaut Reid Wiseman, preparing to return to Earth this weekend after 165 days in orbit, said commercial spaceflight represents the "next breakthrough" in aerospace technology, and that he hopes Virgin Galactic can ultimately turn that dream into reality despite the fatal crash of the company's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane.

Virgin Galactic rocket plane deployed braking system prematurely

Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo rocket plane disintegrated in mid-air after two tail stabilizers prematurely extended, federal investigators said, a discovery that could shift the focus of the probe into the fatal crash away from the craft's rocket motor.

SpaceShipTwo crash inquiry could take a year

Investigators have plenty of evidence to sift through as they look into the cause of the fatal crash of a Virgin Galactic rocket plane, but the acting chair of the National Transportation Safety Board said the inquiry may take up to a year to complete.