On December 05, 2014 at 16:28 UTC the “Orion” capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean about 275 miles off the coast of Baja California and some 630 miles south of San Diego. The mission involved Orion making two orbits of the planet during a four and a half hour mission that ended with the spacecraft’s recovery in the Pacific Ocean. Reaching a maximum altitude of 5,790 kilometres the mission tested separation mechanisms, demonstrated Orion’s Crew Module in orbit and proved that the spacecraft can withstand atmospheric reentry and be recovered successfully.
Over three years after Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down at the end of STS-135, The launch was a major milestone for NASA as it works to reestablish America’s manned space program.
Orion is designed to carry up to four astronauts into space and return them safely to Earth. When operational it will ride NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) into orbit.
On December 05, 2014 at 12:05 UTC the new “Orion” unmanned spacecraft was launched from Cape Canaveral launch site of US Air Force. The launch was performed by United Launch Alliance supported by the 45th Space Wing of US Air Force. The “Orion” EFT-1 (Exploration Flight Test 1) spacecraft was orbited by the “Delta-4 Heavy” rocket-carrier. For the first time since 1981 NASA test flew a new vehicle designed to carry astronauts into space.
The “Orion” space capsule, designed by Lockheed Martin, is seen as the first step in America’s plans to put people on Mars by the mid-2030s.
On November 28, 2014 at 17:00 UTC the “SpinSat” satellite was launched from the International Space Station. The satellite — named SpinSat and developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory — will test out new electrically-controlled micro-thrusters, help refine the military’s ability to track objects in space, and acquire data on the density of the tenuous upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere. SpinSat’s deployment from the space station was the first time a satellite was released from a new mechanism designed to accommodate spacecraft weighing up to 100 kilograms. The space station already has a deployer for tiny CubeSat satellites, which weigh less than 10 pounds.
The debut of a new deployer known as the Space Station Integrated Kinetic Launcher for Orbital Payload Systems (SSIKLOPS) allows the complex to serve as a launch platform for larger, more capable satellites.
The deployer is nicknamed Cyclops and measures about the size
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On November 24, 2014 at 02:48 UTC the "Soyuz TMA-15M” spacecraft docked with the Russian "Rassvet” (MIM-1) module of the International Space Station in automatic regime.
The Soyuz TMA-15M delivered three new members of Expedition 42 to the ISS, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, Italian astronaut Samantha Christoforetti and American astronaut Terry Virts.
The hatches between "Soyuz TMA-15M” and the station were opened at 04:30 UTC.
On November 23, 2014 at 21:01 UTC (on November 24 at 00:01 Moscow time) the Russian “Soyuz TMA-15M” spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome. The space vehicle was orbited by the Russian “Soyuz-FG” rocket-carrier. The spacecraft is piloted by 3 cosmonauts: Commander, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov (center); flight-engineer, Italian astronaut Samantha Christoforetti (right); American astronaut Terry Virts (left).
Photo by Russian Cosmonaut training center.
The space vehicle is to dock with the International Space Station on November 24. Shkaplerov, Christoforetti and Virts will join current ISS expediti
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On November 19, 2014 at 23:00 UTC (on November 20 at 02:00 Moscow time) the “Progress M-24M” spacecraft were deorbiting. Non-burnt fragments of the spacecraft sank in the South part of the Pacific at 23:46 UTC.
On November 10, 2014 at 03:58 UTC the Russian “Soyuz TMA-13M” landing capsule landed safely in a distance of 85 kilometers north from the city of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan.
photo by NASA
The spacecraft delivered to Earth the 3 members of ISS’s Expedition 41 – Russian cosmonaut Maksim Suraev, American astronaut Gregory Wiseman and German astronaut Alexander Gerst. They spent in space 165 days, 07 hours, 01 minutes.
Three other ISS crew members – Russian cosmonauts Aleksandr Samokutyaev and Elena Serova as well as American astro
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On November 10, 2014 at 00:31 UTC the Russian “Soyuz TMA-13M” spacecraft undocked from the Russian "Rassvet” (MIM-1) module of the International Space Station to deliver to Earth the 3 members of Expedition 41 – Russian cosmonaut Maksim Suraev, American astronaut Gregory Wiseman and German astronaut Alexander Gerst.
On October 29, 2014 at 13:08 UTC the Russian “Progress M-25M” unmanned supply spacecraft docked to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was docked to the Russian “Pirs” (Pier) module. The spacecraft carried about 2400 kilograms of cargo for the six-member ISS crew.
On October 29, 2014 at 07:09 UTC the “Progress M-25M” unmanned supply spacecraft was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome to the International Space Station. The spacecraft was orbited by the “Soyuz-2.1a” rocket-carrier.
