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Orbital looking for Cygnus launch slots next year
Facing pressure to find a ride into space for its commercial Cygnus cargo craft in the wake of a catastrophic rocket failure, Orbital Sciences Corp. says it has found openings in the mission manifests of the world's busiest launch operators to accommodate resupply flights to the International Space Station next year.
Orion is ready to roll
The Orion spacecraft sits inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida awaiting its rollout to the launch pad Monday night. The spacecraft will be moved to Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for its flight test, flying aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket.
Delta Mariner drops anchor at Vandenberg to deliver rocket
The harbor at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California received a Delta 4 rocket last week, dropping anchor aboard the Delta Mariner cargo ship after transit from the manufacturing plant in Alabama.
VideoVideo: Orion EFT 1 animation
Mike Sarafin, NASA's lead Orion flight director, narrates animation depicting the Exploration Flight Test 1 from liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Orion orbital trace
NASA's Orion spacecraft will fly a two-orbit, four-hour mission for Exploration Flight Test No. 1 in Earth orbit to test systems.
VideoVideo: Preview of Orion’s recovery
Jeremy Graeber, Orion recovery director, details how the NASA-Navy team will handle the Exploration Flight Test No. 1 after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.
Comet’s brush with Mars more dramatic than expected
Comet Siding Spring's close flyby of Mars last month dumped several tons of primordial dust into the thin martian atmosphere, likely creating a brief but spectacular meteor shower with thousands of shooting stars had any astronauts been there to see it, scientists said.
Crescent Saturn and Titan seen by Cassini
NASA's Cassini spacecraft -- in its 11th year orbiting Saturn -- has spotted the gas giant and its haze-covered moon Titan suspended in the blackness of space like diamonds in the rough.
U.S. Navy communications satellite shipped to launch site
A massive U.S. Navy satellite to launch from Cape Canaveral in January has arrived in Florida, kicking off a campaign to ready the mobile communications craft for flight.
