COTS demo flights
NASA has been directed to pursue commercial spaceflight options since at least 1984, with the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 and Launch Services Purchase Act of 1990. By the 2000s funding was authorized for the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, followed by the Commercial Crew Development program. The Antares and Falcon 9 launch vehicles and Cygnus and Dragon cargo spacecraft were developed using Space Act Agreements under the COTS program.[6]
The first flight contracted by NASA, COTS Demo Flight 1, took place on December 8, 2010, demonstrating a Dragon capsule's ability to remain in orbit, receive and respond to ground commands, and communicate with NASA's Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. On August 15, 2011, SpaceX announced that NASA had combined the objectives of the COTS Demo Flight 2 and following Flight 3 into a single mission.[7][8] The rescoped COTS Demo Flight 2 successfully launched on May 22, 2012, delivering cargo to the ISS. The spacecraft reentered on May 31, landed in the Pacific Ocean, and was recovered, completing CRS certification requirements.[9][10]
Orbital Sciences first launched the Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on April 21, 2013, with a test payload.[11] Orbital Sciences completed the Cygnus Orb-D1 demonstration flight on September 29, 2013, and the operational Cygnus CRS Orb-1 was launched January 9, 2014.[12][13][14][15]
