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Florida Space Day Taking Place on March 12, 2014

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL (January 28, 2014) - Representatives from Florida's aerospace industry will visit Tallahassee on March12, 2014, to participate in Florida Space Day and share with legislators the opportunities the industry brings to Florida and the nation's space program.

Former NASA astronaut Bob Crippen (image attached), pilot of the first orbital test flight of the Shuttle program and former NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Director, will be making scheduled appearances throughout the event. Space-related exhibits will be available on the third floor Rotunda of the Capitol.

"Home to more than 500 aerospace companies employing over 30,000 professionals, Florida must continue to retain, grow and diversify the business of space," said Patty Stratton, chair of Florida Space Day 2014. Florida has the third largest space industry in the nation.

This year's event is critical, as the state's space industry continues to expand and change to face the dynamic international marketplace. During Space Day, industry leaders and other aerospace supporters will meet with House and Senate members, as well as the Governor, to discuss the state's $9 billion space industry, and determine the best strategies for leveraging these markets for Florida's benefit in the years ahead.

With Florida's tested capabilities, it is poised to continue capitalizing on emerging aerospace opportunities as well as open new frontiers in exploration and discovery. Home to two of just eight commercially-licensed spaceports in the country, Florida is one of only three states conducting commercial orbital launches.

"Aerospace means business and that translates into high tech, high paying jobs for Florida," said Stratton. "We want Florida to continue its aggressive stance to create a robust atmosphere for space exploration and business."

Florida Space Day participants include Abacus Technology Corp, AECOM Government Technical Service, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, ASRC Aerospace Corporation, Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, Astrotech Space Operations, ATK, Bionetics, The Boeing Company, Blue Origin, Brazil-Florida Chamber of Commerce, Craig Technologies, D3 Air & Space Operations, Delaware North Companies, Dynamac Corporation, Earthrise Space, Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Exelis, Harris Corporation, InDyne Inc, Jacobs, Jacksonville Aviation Authority, LJT & Associates, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Engineering & Integration, QinetiQ North America, Space Coast Launch Services, Space Florida, SpaceX, United Launch Alliance and URS.

To learn more about Florida Space Day 2014, visit http://www.floridaspaceday.com, join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/FloridaSpaceDay and follow us on Twitter at @FLSpaceDay.

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Florida Space Day Taking Place on March 12, 2014

Former Space Shuttle Commander Flies Virgin Galactic’s Private Spaceship for 1st Time

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Any test pilots hoping to match Rick "CJ" Sturckow's resume must now be feeling seriously discouraged.

The former NASA astronaut, who has four space shuttle missions under his belt, got behind the wheel of Virgin Galactic's private SpaceShipTwo spaceliner for the first time earlier this month, guiding the vehicle through an unpowered "glide flight" in the skies above California's Mojave Air and Space Port.

Friends and colleagues doused Sturckow with water on the runway to celebrate the successful Jan. 17SpaceShipTwotest flight, which marked his first spacecraft landing since bringing the space shuttle Discovery down safely in 2009.

"#SpaceShipTwo is back on the ground after another important glide flight, which proceeded as planned. Good job, team!" Virgin Galactic officials tweeted on Jan. 17.

Sturckow joined Virgin Galactic after a long and storied NASA career. For example, he served as pilot for the space shuttle Endeavour's STS-88 mission in 1998, which was the first shuttle flight to the International Space Station.

Sturckow also piloted Discovery on its STS-105 flight in 2001 and commanded the STS-117 and STS-128 missions, which were flown by the shuttles Atlantis and Discovery in 2007 and 2009, respectively.

The Jan. 17 SpaceShipTwo glide flight came just a week after the vehicle made its third-ever rocket-powered test flight, which saw it set a company altitude record of 71,000 feet (21,641 meters) and accelerate to 1.4 times the speed of sound.

The six-passenger SpaceShipTwo is designed to be lofted to an altitude of about 50,000 feet (15,000 m) by a huge carrier aircraft called WhiteKnightTwo. At that point, the spaceliner is dropped and engages its rocket engine, which blasts the craft onward and upward to suborbital space.

Virgin Galactic expects SpaceShipTwo to become fully operational later this year. Passengers aboard the spaceliner will enjoy a few minutes of weightlessness and see Earth against the blackness of space, company officials say. The current ticket price for a ride aboard the vehicle is $250,000.

In addition to the three rocket-powered test flights, SpaceShipTwo has now successfully completed 29 glide flights. The Jan. 17 test also involved another pilot Pete Siebold, who works for SpaceShipTwo's builder, the aerospace firm Scaled Composites.

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Former Space Shuttle Commander Flies Virgin Galactic's Private Spaceship for 1st Time

Richard Branson 6 Bitcoin Customers Confirmed for Virgin Galactic Space Flight – Video

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Richard Branson 6 Bitcoin Customers Confirmed for Virgin Galactic Space Flight
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Richard Branson 6 Bitcoin Customers Confirmed for Virgin Galactic Space Flight - Video

Say cheese! Space station cameras now looking at us in high-def.

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After four spacewalks and a series of glitches, the International Space Station now sports a pair of cameras pointing at Earth.

The fourth spacewalk from Expedition 38, performed by Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy, wrapped up the installation of two high-definition cameras that experienced connectivity issues last month. A spacewalk on Dec. 27 tried to resolve the issue, but ongoing technical problems kept them from finishing.

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After exitingthe Pirs docking compartment, the men headed to the Zvezda service module, where they installed a high-resolution video camera and a medium resolution still camera to capture Earth imagery. The high-res camera checked out, but the medium-resolution camera again experienced telemetry issues.

Dr. Kotov and Dr. Ryazanskiy also retrieved scientific gear outside the stations Russian segment.

Their spacewalk lasted for 6 hours and 8 minutes, wrapping up at 3:08 p.m. EST yesterday (Jan. 27). The spacewalk a month before lasted two hours longer, clocking in at 8 hours and 7 minutes. Though they failed to complete the cameras' installation, they did set the record for the longest Russian spacewalk. The previous record-holders were Expedition 36 Flight Engineers Fyodor Yurchikhin and Alexander Misurkin, who conducted a 7 hour and 29 minute excursion on Aug. 16.

On Dec. 27, Kotov and Ryazanskiy installed the cameras, but then had to remove them when Russian flight controllers on the ground reported that they could not receive necessary telemetry information.

The cameras are part of a commercial agreement between a Canadian firm and the Russian Federal Space Agency. Their goal is to provide views of Earth from the ISS for Internet-based subscribers. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation notes that the still camera has a resolution of five square meters, and the video camera has a resolution of one square meter.

The spacewalkers also retrieved a cassette container attached to Pirs, part of a materials exposure experiment. They then removed a worksite interface adapter attached to a portable data grapple fixture on the Zarya cargo module. The adapter removal work should ensure that future operations with the Canadarm2 robotic arm will not be impeded.

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Say cheese! Space station cameras now looking at us in high-def.

Mission Milestone Passed By NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope

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January 25, 2014

Image Caption: Artist's impression of the James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Northrop Grumman

J.D. Harrington and Lynn Chandler NASA

NASAs James Webb Space Telescope has passed its first significant mission milestone for 2014 a Spacecraft Critical Design Review (SCDR) that examined the telescopes power, communications and pointing control systems.

This is the last major element-level critical design review of the program, said Richard Lynch, NASA Spacecraft Bus Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. What that means is all of the designs are complete for the Webb and there are no major designs left to do.

During the SCDR, the details, designs, construction and testing plans, and the spacecrafts operating procedures were subjected to rigorous review by an independent panel of experts. The week-long review involved extensive discussions on all aspects of the spacecraft to ensure the plans to finish construction would result in a vehicle that enables the powerful telescope and science instruments to deliver their unique and invaluable views of the universe.

While the spacecraft that carries the science payload for Webb may not be as glamorous as the telescope, its the heart that enables the whole mission, said Eric Smith, acting program director and program scientist for the Webb Telescope at NASA Headquarters in Washington. By providing many services including telescope pointing and communication with Earth, the spacecraft is our high tech infrastructure empowering scientific discovery.

Goddard Space Flight Center manages the mission. Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif., leads the design and development effort.

Our Northrop Grumman team has worked exceptionally hard to meet this critical milestone on an accelerated schedule, following the replan, said Scott Willoughby, Northrop Grumman vice president and James Webb Space Telescope program manager in Redondo Beach, Calif. This is a huge step forward in our progress toward completion of the Webb Telescope.

The James Webb Space Telescope, successor to NASAs Hubble Space Telescope, will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. It will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

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Mission Milestone Passed By NASA's James Webb Space Telescope

Space flight ban on Chinese tourists

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On the 10th of January 2014, Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed it's third powered test flight. Courtesy: Virgin Galactic

CHINESE nationals have been banned from boarding Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic space flights - in case they steal the rocket technology.

Tycoons from China have been told they cannot be among the space tourists because of anti-espionage regulations in the US, from where the British firm's first commercial flights are due to take off later this year.

Sir Richard Branson dons the space suit travellers will wear on their galactic adventure aboard Virgin Galactic flights into space. Source: News Limited

Ironically, the ban comes as Britain opens its doors to Chinese involvement in the nuclear and telecom industries and considers asking China to build the new high-speed rail network.

But because Virgin's craft has a rocket engine, it is seen as potentially military technology by the US's International Traffic in Arms Regulations.

These rules, introduced in the Cold War, bar people from countries such as China, Iran and North Korea from having access to weapons technology.

The restriction freezes out a huge market in China, where wealthy entrepreneurs are willing to pay the $250,000 ticket price for a space flight. Some 600 people worldwide have already put down deposits.

"We have had calls from people in China but we have to tell them we can't accept them if they only have a Chinese passport," said a Virgin Galactic salesman based in Hong Kong.

"We advise them on how they can make themselves eligible for a space tour. For example, they can get another nationality's passport or they can apply for a (US) Green Card."

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Space flight ban on Chinese tourists

Dream Chaser spacecraft to launch from KSC

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By Jerry Hume, Reporter Last Updated: Friday, January 24, 2014, 4:18 PM CAPE CANAVERAL --

The next generation of human space flight will launch from the Space Coast.

NASA and a private space company, Sierra Nevada Corporation, said Thursday it is now preparing to launch and land its Dream Chaser spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center.

The winged craft is similar to a shuttle and designed to carry crew and cargo to orbit heading to places like the International Space Station. Like the Space Shuttles before it, the Dream Chase will come back to Earth and land like a plane at the shuttle landing facility.

SNC will prepare its space plane in the same building as NASA's deep space Orion capsule.

Former astronaut Steve Lindsey commanded the final space shuttle mission and now works for Sierra Nevada. He said KSC is the ideal spot for this venture.

Go fly the mission. Come back, land there. Go through the O and C process with Orion; use the same workforce so that we can save money on both programs doing that. And complete the circle again. It's the perfect place for it

The Dream Chaser will launch on top of an Atlas V rocket on its first orbital test in 2016.

No word yet on how many jobs the expansion will create but Space Florida officials said it will be significant.

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Dream Chaser spacecraft to launch from KSC

James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has passed its first significant mission milestone for 2014 -- a Spacecraft Critical Design Review (SCDR) that examined the telescope's power, communications and pointing control systems.

"This is the last major element-level critical design review of the program," said Richard Lynch, NASA Spacecraft Bus Manager for the James Webb Space Telescope at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "What that means is all of the designs are complete for the Webb and there are no major designs left to do."

During the SCDR, the details, designs, construction and testing plans, and the spacecraft's operating procedures were subjected to rigorous review by an independent panel of experts. The week-long review involved extensive discussions on all aspects of the spacecraft to ensure the plans to finish construction would result in a vehicle that enables the powerful telescope and science instruments to deliver their unique and invaluable views of the universe.

"While the spacecraft that carries the science payload for Webb may not be as glamorous as the telescope, it's the heart that enables the whole mission," said Eric Smith, acting program director and program scientist for the Webb Telescope at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "By providing many services including telescope pointing and communication with Earth, the spacecraft is our high tech infrastructure empowering scientific discovery."

Goddard Space Flight Center manages the mission. Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif., leads the design and development effort.

"Our Northrop Grumman team has worked exceptionally hard to meet this critical milestone on an accelerated schedule, following the replan," said Scott Willoughby, Northrop Grumman vice president and James Webb Space Telescope program manager in Redondo Beach, Calif. "This is a huge step forward in our progress toward completion of the Webb Telescope."

The James Webb Space Telescope, successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. It will observe the most distant objects in the universe, provide images of the first galaxies formed and see unexplored planets around distant stars. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

For more information about the Webb telescope, visit:

http://www.jwst.nasa.gov

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James Webb Space Telescope Passes a Mission Milestone

SNC Announces First Orbital Flight of Dream Chaser® Company Outlines Plans for its Flight Operations

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Sparks, Nev. (PRWEB) January 23, 2014

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announces that it has confirmed that the first orbital flight of its Dream Chaser Space System will occur on November 1, 2016. Dream Chaser will be brought to orbit on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket that is being built in Decatur, Alabama and will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

During SNCs press event at the John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), which was carried live on NASA TV, Mark N. Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems also unveiled the plans for Dream Chaser flight operations and vehicle processing in Florida through a detailed multi-part presentation.

Sirangelo started the announcement by saying, SNC is thrilled to be the first company to confirm a launch date for our countrys return to orbital human spaceflight and the restart of human spaceflight operations from Floridas Space Coast. We could not have done this without the spirit and engagement from our national and state governments, the best aerospace companies in the industry, and several major universities, which all hail from over 30 states. Together these passionate people will return our astronauts to space on American spacecraft and rockets launched from Americas space coast right here in Florida.

"This is a great example of commercial companies working together to further Americas leadership in space," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Not only are NASA and the state of Florida forging new partnerships with the U.S. aerospace industry, we have created an environment where these companies can create partnerships with each other."

"We have been diligent in our efforts, and I consider this a strong vote of confidence from a company that expects to be a major force in the future of human spaceflight," said Bob Cabana, Kennedy center director. "Sierra Nevada Corporation will find in our workforce and facilities the same dynamic and professional people that have made successful missions from here for more than 50 years." Cabana said SNC's involvement with the Florida spaceport shows the conversion to a 21st Century spaceport is succeeding, although work remains to keep the transformation on pace.

Also joining in the press conference were: Michael Gass, United Launch Alliance president and CEO Frank DiBello, Space Florida president and CEO Larry Price, Lockheed Martin Space Systems deputy program manager for NASA's Orion spacecraft Steve Lindsey, Sierra Nevada Corporation senior director and Dream Chaser program manager

We are honored that Sierra Nevada Corporation has reserved a proven Atlas V to launch its first flight test in 2016, said Michael Gass, United Launch Alliance president and CEO. With 42 successful missions spanning a decade of operational service, the commercially-developed Atlas V is uniquely qualified to provide launch services for the Crew Transportation System. Because Atlas is already certified by NASA to fly the nations most complex exploration missions, ULA is able to provide a wealth of flight data, design implementation, detailed system and sub-system analysis, qualification and certification documentation to support NASA certification of the Atlas V for human space flight.

In addition to confirming the launch, SNC also highlighted its plans to employ the Operations and Checkout (O&C) facility at NASAs KSC. The O&C facility will be used for both preparation of the reusable Dream Chaser spacecraft for its flights and post-mission testing for its next flight. The O&C is an historic facility for Americas space program, which was originally built to process Gemini and Apollo era spacecraft. After significant upgrades by NASA and the State of Florida, it is currently being used by Lockheed Martin Space Systems to develop, assemble and test NASAs Orion spacecraft. James H. Crocker, Vice President and General Manager, Civil Space, Lockheed Martin Space Systems commented about the joint efforts, The O&C is a state-of-the-art facility that will greatly enhance Dream Chasers future operations through an innovative co-use plan with Orion. The result will maximize efficiency for both Dream Chaser and Orion and will provide continuity for our highly trained, motivated and certified workforce.

The third part of SNCs announcement underscored Dream Chasers intended use of NASAs Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF). The SLF is an airport/spaceport located on Merritt Island in Brevard County, Fla. The SLF is part of KSC and was used by NASA's Space Shuttle for landing until the program's end in 2011. The facility is also used for takeoffs and landings for NASA training jets and civilian aircraft, such as the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft. Frank DiBello, CEO of Space Florida, provided his view, Todays announcement by Sierra Nevada Corporation continues to verify a strong commercial interest in the SLF, said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. It is clear that the future growth of commercial space is happening here in Florida and we couldnt be happier to work with SNC to realize their Florida-based expansion goals.

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SNC Announces First Orbital Flight of Dream Chaser® Company Outlines Plans for its Flight Operations

NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Ellen Stofan Visits the Goddard Space Flight Center

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Meeting early career scientists was Dr. Ellen Stofans favorite part of visiting NASAS Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., January 23. They are the real future of this agency and they are the ones that are going to be inspiring the next generation.

Stofan, NASAs chief scientist, grew up around science. Her father worked at NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and her mother was a science teacher. Stofan watched the Viking and Voyager launches and learned from other scientists that geology, what she was interested in studying, could be studied on other planets as well. Then, she was hooked.

Stofan has had other major roles during her time at NASA. A lot of my role is advocacy, and as a scientist youre an advocate too, because you are coming up with a theory and having to convince your fellow scientists that youre right.

Now, as chief scientist, she does that on a much broader scale. Instead of being able to look at smaller interesting research projects, I am trying to see the links between all the research NASA does, she said. For me thats extremely fun because I get to go play and learn about areas of science that I know nothing about.

As Chief Scientist, Stofan has two main goals: improving science communication as well as science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education. To improve science communication she focuses on one big question. Are we as individuals and are we as an agency effectively talking about what we do and effectively talking about the links.

Not only do scientists and researchers need to communicate their advancements, they need to show how the science done across the agency links together, Stofan said. Communication is an issue where we can improve and if I can do anything to help, I am happy to.

Stofan addressed this issue during her town hall meeting with Goddard staff, entitled, Looking Outward, Inward and Homeward: The Value of NASA Science. She addressed three fundamental questions: Are we alone? How did we get here? and How does our universe work? These questions ring through the four major themes within the scientific community at NASA: Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Planetary Science and Earth Science. Her discussion focused on how the different themes within NASA tie together and how we can communicate these advances to the public. In order to do this, scientists need to figure out how to tell the story, Stofan said.

The story is getting pretty exciting. Stofan realizes that she has taken on this role at a crucial time in space and Earth science. We are so on the verge of understanding planets, solar systems and the potential for life within our solar system and beyond, she said. NASA is taking measure to search for life off this earth with the Kepler Mission, The James Webb Space Telescope, Mars Curiosity Rover and a possible future mission to Europa.

All that is going to happen in the next 20 years and we are going to all be there to watch it, Stofan said. It is going to rewrite all the science textbooks, and we are right at this moment in time that I think is tremendously exciting.

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NASA Chief Scientist Dr. Ellen Stofan Visits the Goddard Space Flight Center

Sierra Nevada Dreamchaser Will Launch on First Orbital Flight Test in November 2016

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A promotional image from Sierra Nevada Corp. for the planned launch of the Dream Chaser on an Atlas V from Kennedy Space Center. Credit: SNC.

Commercial space company Sierra Nevada Corporation and NASA announced plans today to launch an orbital test flight of the Dream Chaser vehicle in 2016, and that they plan to use processing facilities at Kennedy Space Center as well as land the vehicle at NASAs Shuttle Landing Facility in Florida.

Today were very proud to announce that we have now formally negotiated our orbital spaceflight, said Mark Sirangelo, the head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems. We have acquired an Atlas V rocket and established a launch date of November 1, 2016, so in a little over two years from now and were going to be taking our vehicle to space on the board one of the best rockets that has ever been designed, the Atlas V.

The mission will be automated and unmanned, but if all goes well Sierra Nevada hopes to have a human flight by sometime in 2017.

The Dream Chaser space plane atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Image Credit: SNC

The seven-passenger vehicle looks like a mini-space shuttle and is about (meters long (29.5 feet) with a wingspan of 7 meters 22.9 feet).

Sirangelo said they will be doing Dream Chaser pre- and post-flight processing at KSC along with Lockheed Martin at the Operations and Checkout (O&C) facility at KSC. The O&C is an historic facility which was originally built to process Gemini and Apollo era spacecraft. After significant upgrades by NASA and the State of Florida, it is currently being used by Lockheed Martin Space Systems to develop, assemble and test NASAs Orion spacecraft.

The 2017 flights will be the first time an Atlas V will be used to send people to space since the Mercury program. The landing at the SLF will be the first landing of a space vehicle there since the final space shuttle mission, STS-135, landed there on July 21, 2011.

That is way too long (between landings), said Steve Lindsey, former NASA astronaut and now Sierra Nevadas Dream Chaser program manager, and we intend to do something about it and do it very soon We want to continue the long tradition that was started on the Florida space coast so many years ago.

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Sierra Nevada Dreamchaser Will Launch on First Orbital Flight Test in November 2016


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