It took two attempts, but SpaceX carried out a successful hot-fire test of the Falcon 9 first stage on April 30.

LOS ANGELES — Lockheed Martin is ramping up final assembly work on the flight test version of the Orion crew module as workers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) begin verification checks on the Orion ground test vehicle.

NEW DELHI — India plans to launch dedicated communication satellites for the Navy and Air Force between 2012 and 2014, Defense Minister A.K. Antony says. The naval satellite is planned to be launched in 2012-13, while the air force communication satellite is planned to be launched in 2013-14, Antony said in a written reply to a question in parliament on April 30.He also says that the tri-services defense communication network (DCN) is progressing as per India’s defense procurement procedures.

PARIS — French aerospace engine supplier Safran has finalized the merger of two subsidiaries, energy materials specialist SME and solid-propulsion-motor manufacturer Snecma Propulsion Solid (SPS), Paris-based Safran announced April 30.

SAN FRANCISCO — Far-infrared astronomy is not done from ground observatories and has only been possible from a few orbiting telescopes, so the addition of the High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC) to NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) will allow astronomers to fill a void. On April 19, NASA said it had selected two additional instruments to expand HAWC’s research range.

HOUSTON — A three-man, U.S. and Russian crew departed the International Space Station (ISS) early April 27, descending to Earth aboard their 28 Soyuz spacecraft for a safe ending to a 165-day mission that was marked by major hard- and software upgrades to the orbiting laboratory’s command and control functions as well as a rigorous research agenda.

Blue Origin is at work on separate vehicles for two different flight profiles.

Language differences in the House and Senate versions of the appropriations bills funding NASA in fiscal 2013 contain language differences.