Soyuz TMA-20 begins Expedition 26 by carrying 3 astronauts and cosmonauts to the International Space Station. Russian Commander, cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev alongside Flight Engineers, Catherine Coleman (NASA) & Paolo Nespoli (ESA) will launch aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan and then rendezvous with the station. It landed on May 24, 2011, 02:27 UTC
Low Earth OrbitSpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1 in 2010 was the unmanned first spaceflight of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, the Dragon C1, which orbited the Earth, and the second overall flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9. It was also the first demonstration flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program for which SpaceX was selected. The primary mission objectives were to test the orbital maneuvering and reentry of the Dragon capsule.
Low Earth Orbit B0004 - Maiden Flight Atlantic OceanGlonass-M, also known as Uragan-M, are the second generation of Uragan satellite design used for GLONASS satellite navigation system. GLONASS is a Russian space-based navigation system comparable to the similar GPS and Galileo systems. This generation improves on accuracy, power consumption and design life. Each satellite weighs 1415 kg, is equipped with 12 L-band antennas, and has an operational lifetime of 7 years.
Medium Earth OrbitIntelsat 17 is an SSL built geostationary communications satellite operating at 66 degrees East, to replace the aging Intelsat-702. HYLAS-1 is a british satellite in geostationary orbit, to provide High Definition Television and broadband services to help poor covered parts of Europe. It will be stationed at 33.5 degrees West.
Geostationary Transfer OrbitThe third Minotaur IV launch, which was also known as STP-S26, deployed eight payloads (STPSat-2, RAX, O/OREOS, FASTSAT, NanoSail-D2, FalconSat-5, Sara-Lily (FASTRAC 1), Emma (FASTRAC 2)). STP-S26 was intended to extend previous standard interface development efforts, implementing a number of capabilities aimed at enabling responsive access to space for small experimental satellites and payloads.
Low Earth Orbit