NASA inches closer to Orion’s December test flight

(A technician closely monitors as core the booster elements of the Delta IV Heavy rocket are integrated – Photo Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky)

NASA have taken another step towards the first test flight of the new Orion spacecraft as engineers integrated the three primary core elements of the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket, forming the first stage of the launch vehicle that will send Orion deep into space in December.

SpaceX complete successful Falcon 9 first-stage soft landing

(Orbcomm launch – Photo Credit: SpaceX)

Last week,  the first stage of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket performed a controlled reentery into Earth’s atmosphere and soft landed into the Atlantic Ocean after launching six Orbcomm satellites into a low-Earth orbit. The private spaceflight company have now confirmed the results of the landing attempt and released video footage of the revolutionary technique.