NEW DELHI — The launch of India’s GSAT-10 communications satellite has been delayed by a week due to a minor error in the European Ariane 5 rocket meant to place it on orbit, the country’s top scientist says. “While reviewing the launch preparation, Arianespace found a hole in one of the hoses connecting the spaceport and launch vehicle. It is suspected one gram of dust particles might have entered the launch vehicle through the small hole,” says K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

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METOP-B: Europe’s Metop-B satellite was launched into orbit from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 10:28 p.m. local time Sept. 17. Roughly 1 hr. and 9 min. after liftoff, the upper stage of the Soyuz launch vehicle released the Astrium-built satellite into its designated orbit at approximately 800 km (500 mi.) altitude. Metop-B is a replacement low-altitude, polar-orbiting weather satellite for Metop-A. The spacecraft is designed to have an operational life of five years.

Pasadena, Calif. – Orbital Sciences Corp. expects to move the initial Antares rocket to the launch pad at Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Va., later this month in preparation for hot fire tests.

New Delhi – The Indian Space Research Organization will launch the communication satellite GSAT 10 from French Guiana on Sept. 22, the ISRO’s 101st mission. “We are going to French Guiana for the launch because the satellite weighs nearly 3.5 tons, which cannot be lifted by any of our vehicles – PSLV or GSLV,” ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan says.

Pasadena, Calif. – Space Exploration Technologies ( SpaceX ) is negotiating with the FAA to allow the Grasshopper reusable launch test vehicle to fly at higher altitudes as part of a planned series of launch and landing evaluations.

Contractors hoping to cash in on NASA ’s plans to buy seats for its astronauts on commercial crew vehicles bound to the International Space Station will have to convince the space agency that their spacecraft are safe as they work to finish developing them.

Stephen Squyres, Chairman of the NASA Advisory Council, stressed the importance of equally funding the Orion/Space Launch System (SLS) project as well as the current Curiosity mission on Mars and potential future red planet missions during a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation committee hearing on Sept. 12. “I would sincerely hope it is not an either/or proposition,” said Squyres.