Commercial Space Transportation

Orbital ATK Resupply:  Orbital ATK resumes flight from Wallops Island, Va., in a stunning launch visible for miles  Orbital ATK’s modified Antares launch vehicle lifted off successfully from NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility on a NASA contracted resupply mission to the International Space Station. The mission marks the first for Orbital ATK from Wallops Island since the Oct. 28, 2014 Antares launch vehicle explosion moments after liftoff. The latest flight, Orbital’s sixth under the NASA contract, is to deliver 5,100 pounds of crew supplies, science experiments and technology demonstration hardware to the ISS. Antares returns to flight powered by Russian RD-181 rocket engines. (See also:  Fire in space and other experiments launch to space station Sunday)

SpaceX:  Shotwell says SpaceX “homing in” on cause of Falcon 9 pad explosion  SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell said the cause of the Sept. 1, Falcon 9 launch pad blast at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, was due more likely to a “business process issue” than a fundamental launch vehicle or engineering design issue.

No Plans for More Soyuz:  NASA has no plans to buy more Soyuz seats, and it may be too late anyway  NASA is holding off on the purchase of additional Russian transportation to the International Space Station aboard Soyuz spacecraft in 2019. Agency executives believe Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner and the SpaceX crewed Dragon will be ready to launch NASA astronauts by late 2018 despite technical and budget challenges. Both companies are developing their spacecraft under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Blue Origin Abort Testing:  Blue Origin successfully tests New Shepard abort system   As designed, the crew capsule separated and landed safely on the plains of West Texas, following the launch of Blue Origin’s New Shepard reusable launch vehicle. The capsule parachuted to the ground, while the launch vehicle stabilized and landed tail first to end its fifth non-crewed test launch.

Citizens for Space Exploration – a pro-space, taxpayer, grassroots advocacy group (http://www.bayareahouston.com/content/c_s_e/c_s_e) – has traveled to Washington, D.C. the past 24 years to meet face-to-face with Members/staff of Congress to discuss the value of America’s investment in space exploration. In order to sustain that dialogue on a regular basis, Citizens distributes “Space Exploration Update” to Congressional offices on a weekly basis. The intent is to provide an easy, quick way to stay abreast of key human space exploration program and policy developments.