On Friday, December 17, 2010, NASA conducted a test fire of the liquid-fueled AJ26 engine. Two AJ26 engines will power the first stage of the Orbital’s Taurus II launch vehicle. The engine test ran for fifty-five seconds. The Aerojet AJ26 engines are derived from the Russian NK-33 engines. The NK-33 engines, after spending four decades in storage, are being refurbished by Aerojet and qualified for U.S. propellants.
Read more about the Taurus II launch vehicle…
Soyuz TMA-20 docked to the International Space Station on Friday, December 17, 2010. Cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli complete the Expedition 26 crew.
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Soyuz TMA-20 lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Wednesday, December 15, 2010. The Soyuz spacecraft carries Cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli. Soyuz TMA-20 is expected to dock with the International Space Station on Friday, December 17.
Read more about Expedition 26…
The Orbital COTS demonstration mission is scheduled to take place in the second half of 2011. Orbital Sciences will provide eight pressurized cargo missions beginning in late 2011 or early 2012.
Read more about Orbital\’s Cygnus…
Soyuz TMA-20 is scheduled to launch on December 15, 2010. Cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev, NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will join the rest of the Expedition 26 crew, cosmonauts Oleg Skripochka and Alexander Kaleri, and NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, already at the Internation Space Station.
Read more about Expedition 26…
On December 8, 2010, a Falcon 9 launch vehicle lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station\’s Launch Complex 40. The Falcon 9 successfully carried the Dragon spacecraft to orbit.
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