At 1100 GMT on 29 September, the Cygnus Cots Demo 1 cargo craft which was to demonstrate to NASA that it can be used to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), was successfully captured by the space station’s robot arm after a delayed approach and rendevous.
Following its launch on 18 September aboard Orbital Sciences’ new Antares 110 launch vehicle, the Orbital Sciences’ built Cygnus Cots Demo 1 cargo craft was prevented from docking as planned with the International Space Station (ISS). A very simple software fault (date mismatch) prevented Cots Demo 1 from approaching and docking with the ISS on 21 September. An update to the craft’s software was uploaded. The rendezvous and docking was then further delayed from the planned docking on 23/24 September to allow the Soyuz TMA-010M manned craft to dock with ISS first.
