SSI News
NASA under fire for advancing Orbital Sciences commercial cargo cash
NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has criticised NASA’s management in a report noting that it has apparently given funding to one of the commercial cargo operators before it has flown the required number of cargo demonstration missions. Specifically it records that Orbital Sciences Corp has recevied “up to 70 percent of the funds associated with six of its eight CRS missions prior to having flown a demonstration flight, “
ATV 04 (Albert Einstein) cargo craft docks with International Space Station
Ten days after its Ariane 5 launch, the Automated Transfer Vehicle ATV 04 (Albert Einstein) docked with the aft port of the International Space Station’s Zvezda module at 1407 GMT on 15 June. The craft was carrying The craff was carrying 2580kg of propellant to boost itself and ISS to a higher orbit and a futher 860kg of fuel to be transferred. There will also be 570kg of water and 100kg of oxygen and 2,400kg of dry cargo carried.
Arianespace and Mitsubishi sign launcher payload prep deal
As a follow up to the Launch Services Alliance agreement (2003) between the European launch provider Arianespace and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Boeing that allowed the Ariane 5 ECA, the H2A rocket and the Delta IV to be a back up to each other, Arianespace and MItsubishi Heavy Industries fhave signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 7 June to standardise satellite preparation procedures. This, it is hoped, will make it easier for clients to move from one rocket to another in the case of a delay.
It is 50 years since the first woman was launched into space
Sunday 16 June marks the 50th anniversary of the first time a women flew in space. For on 16 June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be launched into orbit as part of the Soviet Union’s Vostok 6 mission. As a factory worker from a peasant family, Tereshkova was selected partly due to her parachuting experience (she had made 90 jumps). Tereskkova’s 48-orbit flight lasted over three days. It coincided with Vostok 5 which was already in orbit and Tereshkova managed to make radio contact with Vostok 5’s cosmonaut pilot Valery Bykovsky,
ULA faces anti-trust investigation for allegedly preventing RD-180 rocket engines being used by others
Reuters reports that the joint Boeing-Lockheed Martin firm, United Launch Alliance, which builds and markets the Atlas V and Delta IV rockets, will be investigated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for anti-trust violations in allegedly using an exclusivity clause to prevent the US-Russian built rocket engine, the RD Amross RD-180, from being used by other rocket firms.
Shenzhou 10 docks with Tiangong 1 mini-space station and crew enter the cabin – Corrected
The Chinese manned spacecraft Shenzhou 10 docked with the Tiangong 1 minispace station two days after its launch on 11 June. The docking used a radar/laser assisted automatic docking sequence with contact being made at 0511 GMT and the final docking taking place at 0518 GMT on 13 June 2013. The two man one woman crew opened the hatch and entered the space station at 0817 GMT.
SpaceX signs Falcon 9 v1.1 data sharing agreement with US Air Force and plans first stage reusability experiments
Elon Musk has given details of SpaceX’s plans for future reusability tests. One of these will include a pre-splashdown retrofire of a first stage engine during a Falcon 9 v1.1 flight next year. The full story is here:
https://www.seradata.com/news/articles/spacex-reusability-trials-coming-soon-384057/
Aerojet’s holding company Gen Corp gets go ahead for Pratt & Whitney-Rocketdyne buy
Gen Corp, the company that owns the rocket engine firm Aerojet, has had its $550 million planned acquisition of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) from United Technologies Corp,approved after U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) closed its invstigation and relaxed its objection following advice from the US Department of Defence.
On a sadder note: Aerospace writer Bill Gunston passes away
It is sad to belatedly report that former Flight staffer and engine section editor of Jane’s All the World’s aircraft Bill Gunston OBE has passed away on 1 June. Like his colleague, John W.R. Taylor, Gunston became one of the greats of British aviation writing.
Construction order for JCSAT 14 goes to Space Systems/Loral
The Japanese satellite operator SKY Perfect JSAT has awarded the construction order for its JCSAT-14 communications satellite to the US-based satellite constructor Space Systems/Loral. The satellite is being built to replace JCSAT-2A at 154 degrees East longitude in Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) covering the Asia Pacific region.
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