A little while ago, Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Cygnus spacecraft lifted off on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), part of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Wallops Island, Virginia. After about 15 minutes it successfully separated from the last stage of the rocket and started its journey. This is its first official mission, Orbital-1 or simply Orb-1, of transport of supplies to the International Space Station for NASA.

The communication satellite GSAT-14 was just launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota island using the GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) Mk.II D5 rocket. All the stages of the rocket performed as predicted and after less than 20 minutes the satellite successfully separated from the last stage.

The Cygnus spacecraft, which started its journey on September 18, has just docked with the International Space Station. It’s the second belonging to a private company to dock at the International Space Station after the SpaceX Dragon. The success of this mission was vital to Orbital Sciences to get a contract with NASA for eight cargo transport missions to the Station but the two spacecraft are very different, not only in appearance.

A little while ago, the Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Cygnus spacecraft took off on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), part of NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) on Wallops Island, Virginia. The Cygnus, which carries nearly 600 kg (about 1,300 lbs) of non-essential cargo to the International Space Station, separated successfully from the last stage of the Antares and is en route to the Station.

It was morning in the U.S.A. when the Virgin Galactic’s spacecraft SpaceShipTwo, millionaire Richard Branson’s company, passed a new test after the supersonic flight taken last April. Demonstrating its ability to maneuver, it took another step towards the start of commercial suborbital flights.