SpaceX dixit:
On September 29, 2012, SpaceX completed a successful static fire test of the Falcon 9 rocket\’s nine Merlin engines. During this test, SpaceX engineers ran through all countdown processes as if it were launch day. All nine engines fired at full power for two seconds while the rocket was held down to the pad. This is the last major all systems test in preparation for Falcon 9 and Dragon\’s next mission to the space station, targeted for October 7.
Credit: SpaceX
On September 28, 2012, an Ariane 5 launch vehicle lifted off from French Guiana with two telecommunications satellites, Astra-2F and GSAT-10.
Credit: ESA/Arianespace
Read more about Ariane 5 and Arianespace…
ATV-3 “Edoardo Amaldi”, the European Space Agency\’s Automated Transfer Vehicle undocked from the International Space Station on Septermber 28, 2012.
Credit: ESA/NASA/Roscosmos
Read more about the International Space Station…
SpaceX dixit:
“On Friday, September 21, 2012 SpaceX\’s Grasshopper vertical takeoff and landing test vehicle (VTVL) took its first test flight hop from the company\’s rocket testing facility in McGregor, Texas. The short hop of approximately 6 feet is the first major milestone for Grasshopper, and a critical step toward a reusable first stage for SpaceX\’s proven Falcon 9 rocket. As seen in the video, Grasshopper consists of a Falcon 9 first stage, a Merlin-1D engine, four steel landing legs, and a steel support structure. SpaceX is working to develop vehicles that are fully and rapidly reusable, a key element to radically reducing cost and increasing the efficiency of spaceflight. Testing of Grasshopper continues, with the next big milestone — a hover at roughly 100 feet — expected in the next several months.”
Credit: SpaceX
Â
On September 14, 2012, a Soyuz-2.1a/Fregat launch vehicle lifted off from Baikonur with the European meteorological satellite MetOp-B. MetOp-B is the second satellite in a series of three polar orbiting meteorological satellites operated by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT).
Credit: Roscosmos
Expedition 32 Commander Gennady Padalka, Flight Engineers Joe Acaba and Sergei Revin landed on the steppe of Kazakhstan on September 17, 2012. The crew completed 123 days on the station.
Credit: NASA/Roscosmos
Read more about the International Space Station…
Subscribe to blog posts using RSS