Orbital Express Is Not Out of the Woods - Yet

Editor's update: I spoke with DARPA PAO and they will be providing me with additional information. Suffice it to say that after some software uploads, ASTRO now controls the Orbital Express stack. However, an anomaly earlier in the mission having to do with ASTRO's reaction wheels seems to be at the heart of the spacecraft's earlier problems.

Editor's note: Check out this Orbital Express status page at Boeing. What is being downplayed here, according to sources, is the fact that Ball's NextSat spacecraft has been controlling the stack (NextSat/ASTRO) since arriving on orbit last month due to the fact that Boeing's ASTRO spacecraft experienced a series of on-orbit anomalies due to GN&C software and hardware problems. Indeed, were it not for NextSat, Boeing's portion of the spacecraft would not have been able to orient the solar arrays properly - and power itself. This is a cool mission. It is also an expensive one. I certainly hope things get fixed.

Orbital Express, DARPA

Orbital Express - Good News - And Not So Good News, earlier post