Orbital presses U.S. lawmakers to end ban on retired missiles, Reuters “Orbital ATK is pressing U.S. lawmakers to end a 20-year ban on using decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) for […]
Orbital
Posted inCommercialization
Wallops Spaceport Agreement Update
Governor McAuliffe Announces Agreement to Continue Operation of the Virginia Commercial Space Authority “The cost of repairs to Pad 0A are expected to be approximately $15 million at completion, split […]
Posted inCongress
Congressional Oversight or Congressional Ignorance?
Congress calls SpaceX Falcon 9 launch certification into question, Denver Post “The June 28 explosion of a Falcon 9 rocket carrying supplies to the International Space Station has members of […]
Posted inCommercialization
Orbital ATK Vs Aerojet over Antares Explosion Cause
Orbital, GenCorp spar over cause of October rocket crash, Reuters “Orbital ATK Inc and engine maker GenCorp Inc on Tuesday offered competing explanations for what caused the Oct. 28 explosion […]
Posted inSLS and Orion
NASA Forgot the Largest Rocket Booster It Built – in the 1960s.
NASA’s Space Launch System Booster Thunders During Successful Ground Test “The largest, most powerful rocket booster ever built successfully fired up Wednesday …” Aerojet, Wikipedia “Between Sept. 25, 1965 and […]
Posted inCommercialization
Antares Engine Problems Were Not News
Before explosion, NASA knew aging Soviet engines posed risks, LA Times “Years before an unmanned rocket erupted in a fireball in October, NASA officials knew the metal in its 50-year-old […]
Posted inCommercialization
Orbital Buys One Atlas V Launch (Maybe Two) for Cygnus
Orbital Announces Additional Details Concerning CRS Program and Antares Launcher Go-Forward Plans “Orbital has contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft from […]
Posted inCommercialization
ATK and Orbital Announce Wedding Plans
ATK and Orbital Receive U.S. DOJ Clearance for Proposed Merger “Alliant Techsystems Inc. (“ATK”) (NYSE: ATK) and Orbital Sciences Corporation (“Orbital”) (NYSE: ORB) announced that the U.S. Department of Justice […]
Posted inCommercialization
Rising Above Tragedy – It Has Happened Before
Past Transit Tragedies Point to a Way Forward for Virgin Galactic, Smithsonian “Private spaceflight hit a large bump in the road to orbit last week, with Orbital Sciences’ rocket explosion […]
Posted inCommercialization
Looking at ORB-3 Antares Telemetry
Orbital’s Statement Regarding Orb-3 Launch Mishap (UPDATE) “Telemetry data has been released to Orbital and our engineers presented a very quick look assessment to the Accident Investigation Board at the […]