NASA's Orion Spacecraft at the Launch Pad

With access doors at Nasa Space Launch Complex 37 opened on Nov. 24, 2014, the Nasa Orion spacecraft and Delta IV Heavy stack is visible in its entirety inside the Mobile Service Tower where the vehicle is undergoing launch preparations.

Nasa Orion spacecraft will make its first flight test on Dec. 4 with a morning launch atop the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.

Orion’s crew module is underneath the Launch Abort System and nose fairing, both of which will jettison about six minutes, 20 seconds after launch.

The tower will be rolled away from the rocket and spacecraft 8 hours, 15 minutes before launch to allow the rocket to be fueled and for other launch operations to proceed.

The spacecraft will orbit the Earth twice, including one loop that will reach 3,600 miles above Earth.

No one will be aboard Orion for this flight test, but the spacecraft is being designed and built to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space.

Launch is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4 at 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2 hour, 39-minute window for the day.

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Orion Spacecraft takes a big step towards the launch pad

Inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane brings the fourth and final Ogive panel closer for installation on Orion's Launch Abort System. 

The panels will smooth the airflow over the conical spacecraft to limit sound and vibration.

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Kevin Rivers was nothing but giddy as he stood behind the closed door of the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, waiting to see the Orion spacecraft that will one day send humans on the journey to Mars.

After just a few minutes that seemed like a lifetime, Rivers, the Launch Abort System project manager, walked through the facility door.

There before him stood the 80-foot high Orion spacecraft being readied for its December flight test with the four recently-installed protective panels that make up the Ogive.

The Ogive reduces drag and acoustic load on the crew module, making it a smoother ride for the spacecraft.

“What my colleagues and I were able to witness was a significant historical point in our efforts to move beyond low-Earth orbit and explore past the moon,” Rivers said.

On Dec. 4, Orion is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida.

During the test, Orion will travel 3,600 miles in altitude above Earth. 4 1/2 hours later, the spacecraft will reenter the atmosphere at 20,000 mph and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.

Orion’s first flight will verify launch and high-speed reentry systems such as avionics, attitude control, parachutes and the heat shield.

Barry Meredith, who works with Rivers at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Virginia, expressed a similar awe. “Orion’s flight test is a major step toward exploring beyond low-Earth orbit,” he said.

“Though a crew will not occupy the first flight, it’s really critical that we test the spacecraft systems.”

The Ogive installation was one of the last pieces of the puzzle for Orion prior to its move to the launch pad on Nov. 10.

There, it will be lifted and attached to the rocket for its December launch.

“There is much effort and preparation for such a momentous occasion,” said Langley engineer Jose Ortiz.

“There are many disciplines, geographically dispersed specialties and developments, tests, elaborate analyses, materials characterizations, and other efforts by NASA centers and contractor partners. The nationwide effort is aimed toward one common and challenging goal in mind: human spaceflight.”

Orion is managed out of NASA’s Johnson Space Flight Center in Texas, and the Launch Abort System project is managed out of Langley.

NASA centers and industry partners from across the country have also played a critical role in the design, development and testing of Orion.

NASA's OCO-2 Satellite on the Launch Pad

The launch gantry surrounding the Delta II rocket with the second Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite onboard is seen in this black and white infrared view of Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

The satellite will measure the global distribution of carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. 

OCO-2 is set for a July 1, 2014,launch.

Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

ESA Swarm Ready on the Launch Pad

Preparations for Friday’s launch of ESA’s magnetic explorer (SWARM) have reached an important milestone – the constellation is now in the Plesetsk launch tower.

The team in northern Russia said farewell to the three Swarm satellites at the weekend as they sealed them from view within the rocket’s fairing, which protects them from the rigours of launch.

This marks the culmination of two months of work testing and preparing the Swarm constellation for launch at the cosmodrome.

The fairing half-shells will open almost three minutes after launch.

Once the second stage of the Rockot launcher has separated a few minutes later, the satellites will be taken into orbit by the Breeze-KM upper stage.

Just over 90 minutes after launch and at an altitude of 490 km, Breeze will release the trio simultaneously into orbit around Earth.

Today, in a rather wintery setting, the assembly, wrapped in thermal padding, was rolled out to the launch pad and hoisted to the top of the service tower.

It was then lowered onto the lower stages of the Rockot vehicle.

The next steps on the road to launch involve a ‘dress rehearsal’ of the launch procedure and fuelling of the rocket for launch on 22 November at 12:02 GMT (13:02 CET).

For four years, Swarm will study the mysteries of Earth’s magnetic field, its interactions with the solar wind and its links to global change.

The five new-generation sensors on each satellite and carefully calculated orbits will provide the information needed to untangle the different sources that make up the magnetic field and electric currents around Earth.

NASA MAVEN: Mars-Bound spacecraft at the Launch Pad

Two days before the scheduled launch to Mars, the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft rolled out of the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41 Vertical Integration Facility to the launch pad, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013, Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital Sciences' Antares Rocket and Cygnus Spacecraft at the Launch Pad

Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., rolled out its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Va on Friday, Sept. 13, 2013. 

The Antares is scheduled to launch Cygnus at 11:16 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 17 on a demonstration cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. 

Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including food and clothing, to the Expedition 37 crew aboard the space station, who will capture and install the spacecraft on Sept. 22 using the station's robotic arm. 

Orbital is building and testing its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. 

Following a successful demonstration mission, Orbital is poised to begin eight cargo flights contracted by NASA to resupply the station. 

Future flights of Cygnus will significantly increase NASA's ability to deliver new science investigations to the nation's only laboratory in microgravity. 

Image Credit: NASA/Brea Reeves

UPDATE
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., will postpone by at least 24 hours the launch of its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration mission to the International Space Station. 

The new launch window is targeted for Wednesday, Sept. 18 between 10:50 to 11:05 a.m. EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

NASA - Soyuz TMA-09M ISS Shuttle craft to the Launch Pad

The Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch pad, Sunday, May 26, 2013, in Kazakhstan.

Expedition 36/37 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, and Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg of NASA, are set to launch to the International Space Station Tuesday night Eastern U.S. time, Wednesday in Kazakh time. 

Yurchikhin, Nyberg, and, Parmitano, will remain aboard the station until mid-November 2013.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital Sciences' Antares Rolls Out to Wallops Launch Pad

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket rolls out to the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the morning of Oct. 1, 2012.

Over the next several months, Orbital plans a hot-fire test of the Antares first stage, the maiden flight of an Antares rocket, and a cargo delivery demonstration mission to the International Space Station as part of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services. Credit: Nasa

Orbital Rolls Antares to NASA Pad To Prepare for Hold down Test

Orbital Sciences Corp. on Oct. 1 rolled the first stage of its Antares rocket out to the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility to prepare for a series of tests that, if successful, will clear the way for the company to begin routine cargo deliveries to the international space station sometime next year.

Orbital wanted to move the Antares stage to the pad Sept. 27, but a power problem with a transporter vehicle used to haul the rocket from its hangar to the pad, coupled with expectations of foul weather on the Virginia coast during the weekend, prompted the company to delay rollout until Oct. 1, spokesman Barron Beneski said.

Orbital holds a $1.9 billion NASA contract signed in 2008 that calls for eight cargo flights to the space station.

Orbital will deliver that cargo with its unmanned Cygnus space freighter, which Antares will loft to low Earth orbit from Wallops.

Before it can collect on the delivery contract, however, Orbital has to complete a hold-down test of the Antares first stage, then conduct two Antares demonstration flights out of Wallops.

The first-stage hold-down test will take place at the pad sometime in the next four to five weeks, Orbital said in its Oct. 1 press release.

In the hold-down test, the rocket core’s two liquid engines — Soviet-vintage NK-33s refurbished by Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet and rebranded as AJ-26s — will be lit for about 30 seconds.

Antares would have its maiden flight a month after a successful hold-down test, Orbital said Oct. 1.

Assuming a successful test flight, a full-up Antares-Cygnus stack would be cleared to fly a demonstration cargo run to the space station before the end of the year, Orbital said.

In that mission, Cygnus would deliver 550 kilograms of freight and relieve the outpost of about 1,000 kilograms of trash, Orbital said.

Antares will launch all of its space station resupply missions from Pad 0-A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), a facility at the southern tip of Wallops Island that is operated by the state-funded Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority.

Because MARS and Pad 0-A are on a NASA range, the agency had to give its approval for Orbital to begin operations at the launch pad.

ESA: Vega VV01 waiting on Launch Pad, Kourou

ESA’s new Vega rocket is now fully assembled on its launch pad. Final preparations are in full swing for the rocket’s inaugural flight.

Flight VV01 will lift off from the new Vega launch site at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying nine satellites into orbit: the LARES laser relativity satellite and ALMASat-1 from ASI with seven CubeSats from European Universities.

For further information, please visit: www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Vega/

European Space Agency (ESA): VEGA Build and launch - Live streaming video

eurospaceagency on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

ESA Vega Launch: Final ‘go’ for Vega launch Monday 13th Feb 2012

ESA’s new Vega rocket is now fully assembled on its launch pad. Final preparations are in full swing for the rocket’s inaugural flight.

Flight VV01 will lift off from the new Vega launch site at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying nine satellites into orbit: the LARES laser relativity satellite and ALMASat-1 from ASI with seven CubeSats from European Universities.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja, 2012

Vega is all set for launch on Monday. The new launcher passed its final hurdle on Saturday at Europe’s Spaceport, the Launch Readiness Review, and is ready for liftoff.

This last review checks the final status of the entire launch system, including the vehicle and the ground infrastructure, following the full dress rehearsal of the countdown and launch of earlier this week.

The first mission, designated VV01, is scheduled for liftoff during a two and a half hour launch window lasting 10:00–12:30 GMT (11:00–13:30 CET; 07:00–09:30 local time).

ESA: First Vega rocket assembled on launch pad - images

ESA’s new Vega rocket is now fully assembled on its launch pad. Final preparations are in full swing for the rocket’s inaugural flight.

Flight VV01 will lift off from the new Vega launch site at Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, carrying nine satellites into orbit: the LARES laser relativity satellite and ALMASat-1 from ASI with seven CubeSats from European Universities.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja, 2012

Vega's upper composite, comprising LARES, ALMASat-1, seven CubeSats and the fairing, was transferred to the pad on 24 January and added to the vehicle at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Credits: ESA - M. Pedoussaut, 2012

Vega's upper composite, comprising LARES, ALMASat-1, seven CubeSats and the fairing, was transferred to the pad on 24 January and added to the vehicle at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana.

Credits: ESA - M. Pedoussaut, 2012

Cube Satellites: View Space Station as Launch Pad

CubeSats are small and compact sensor-laden satellites that can help monitor phenomena of interest, such as Earth's upper atmosphere.

CREDIT: University of Kentucky

The International Space Station would be an ideal launch platform for dispatching tiny spacecraft to perform a variety of Earth-oriented scientific research tasks, some experts speculate.

The idea of using the $100 billion ISS as a platform to pop out sensor-laden probes has captured the attention of small-satellite makers, who are contemplating deploying palm-sized satellites called CubeSats from the orbiting laboratory to study phenomena of interest.

Clyde Space - Cubesat

Scottish scientists are also at the Technology Strategy Board Collaboration Nation event, concluding the Space Feasibility study activities, Clyde Space presented three of our innovative technology concepts for use on CubeSats. 

The concepts were a high resolution imager for a 3U CubeSat for global digital mapping, a Bush Fire early warning system using a constellation of 3U CubeSats with infrared imaging capability and a Dragsail for automatically deorbiting CubeSats at the end of mission life. 

A summary of the studies can be found in this PDF (extract from the Technology Strategy Board report): Clyde Space TSB Study Summaries.

NASA Shuttle Atlantis: STS-135: Ready to Launch

Atlantis waiting at T-9 mins and restarting launch

Expedition 28 Soyuz Rollout

Large gantry mechanisms on either side of the Soyuz TMA-02M spacecraft are raised into position to secure the rocket at the launch pad on Sunday, June 5, 2011 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)

View Carla Cioffi's Flickr of NASA Photostream here

NASA - Soyuz TMA-01M Rolls to the Launch Pad

The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010.

The Soyuz TMA-01M spacecraft is raised into launch position at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. 

Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

The TMA-01M is a new modified Soyuz vehicle that features upgraded avionics and a digital cockpit display.

The launch of three new Expedition 25 crew members--Soyuz Commander Alexander Kaleri, NASA Flight Engineer Scott Kelly and Russian Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka--is scheduled to launch on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. EDT.

Image Credit: NASA/Carla Cioffi

NASA: ARES 1 Rocket en route to Launch Pad

Talk about pressure. As the troubled successor to NASA's space shuttle powers up for its first flight test, a White House panel is weighing up whether to cancel the project.

The Ares I rocket is designed to carry a crew capsule called Orion to Earth orbit, where it could dock with the International Space Station or form part of a mission to the moon. But it has been plagued with budget problems and technical hitches.

On 27 October – or a few days later, depending on how preparations go – NASA is expected to launch the first Ares I test flight. A solid-fuel rocket like those used on the space shuttle will boost a dummy second stage and crew capsule to an altitude of about 45 kilometres. The flight will determine the rocket's stability and test its flight-control software.

The stakes are high. A White House panel has been considering cancelling Ares I in favour of a commercial launcher. Its final report is expected this week.

Mark Lewis, former chief scientist for the US air force and president-elect of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, recognises that policy-makers will be watching the outcome closely, but warns against overreacting to any technical problems that emerge during the test.

"If they have any sort of glitch and someone says, 'Oh, we have to cancel the programme now,' they've completely missed the point," he says. "There are always things you learn in flight that you missed or you didn't properly simulate."