[Satellite TODAY 12-11-09] Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and the U.S. Air Force completed ground testing on the second stage of Orbital Sciences‘ Taurus 2 rocket motor at the Air Force’s engineering facility in Tennessee, Orbital announced Dec. 10.
    The solid-fuel Castor 30 second stage motor, which is supplied to Orbital by ATK, was test fired for about 150 seconds, producing 72,000 pounds of maximum thrust. The static fire test was conducted using a vacuum chamber designed to simulate upper atmospheric conditions because the motor is designed to ignite at altitudes higher than 100,000 feet.
    "The ground test of the Castor 30 motor is the first major event in the testing phase of the Taurus 2 development program, having completed the engineering design and procurement work over the past year and a half.  In addition to the second stage testing, we will soon begin the testing process for the rocket’s liquid fuel first stage at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi," Brent Collins, Orbital’s Taurus 2 program manager, said in a statement. 

SpaceX Protests U.S. Air Force, Orbital Contract   Satellite Today   November 17, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 11-17-09] SpaceX filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Oct. 26 over� a missile hardware order the U.S. Air Force placed with Orbital Sciences Corp. on Sept. 14, the GAO confirmed Nov. 16.

Orbital Sees 18 Percent Profit Loss in Third Quarter   Satellite Today   October 28, 2009
[Satellite TODAY 10-28-09] Orbital Sciences Corp. s third-quarter profits fell almost 18 percent, with net income at $9.4 million compared to $11.4 million in 2008, the company announced in its financial results, released Oct. 27.

Middle Path to Space   Via Satellite   August 1, 2009
Big remains beautiful in the satellite business, but launch vehicle operators are preparing new offerings to meet expected demand from commercial and government customers for small- and medium-class rockets that can deliver smaller payloads more…