My Space BlogBy Anthony Matthews – with an emphasis on Small Launch Vehicles |
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| By N2H | ||||
NASASpaceWatch is reporting on today’s protest of the COTS awards. There’s some nice commentary comparing the the different proposals.
PlanetSpace Inc – which lost out on NASA’s 3.5 billion dollar Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract – have filed an official protest. Last month, SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corp) and Orbital were awarded the contract to resupply the International Space Station (ISS) during the transition between Shuttle and Orion.
I’ve actually stood in the now-famous warehouse in Samara, Russia and seen the 100 or so leftover NK-33 engines all covered in plastic. It will be thrilling to see one of these engines launched into space on a US vehicle.
The vehicle, under a new designation, is slated for use on Taurus II.
Orbital will employ its Taurus II medium-lift launch vehicle and the Cygnus spacecraft in order to service the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.