Orbital Sciences Antares & Cygnus spacecraft

[DocM]

WHEW!! Good show Orbital Sciences!!

Between Orbital launchers having trouble with their payload fairings not properly separating and the umbilical issues of last week people were nervous, but Antares worked fabulously.

ORBITAL SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES FIRST ANTARES ROCKET

-- Company Introduces America?s Newest Medium-Class Space Launch Vehicle

-- Orbital Now Poised to Conduct Cargo Resupply Demonstrations Mission to International Space Station in Mid 2013

(Dulles, VA 21 April 2013) ? Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world?s leading space technology companies, today completed a successful test launch of its new Antares? rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at NASA?s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Lift-off took place at 5:00 p.m. (EDT) followed by payload separation approximately 10 minutes later and mission completion at about 18 minutes after launch, once the rocket?s upper stage completed planned maneuvers to distance itself from the payload. The test flight demonstrated all operational aspects of the new Antares launcher, including the ascent to space and accurate delivery of a simulated payload to a target orbit of approximately 150 by 160 miles, with an inclination of 51.6 degrees, the same launch profile it will use for Orbital?s upcoming cargo supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA.

?Today marked a giant step forward for the Antares program, with a fully successful inaugural flight of the largest and most complex rocket the company has ever developed and flown, said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital?s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. ?With its successful test flight from the MARS pad at Wallops Island, we will now move forward toward completing the full demonstration mission of our system to resupply the International Space Station with essential cargo in just a couple of months.?

Today?s test launch, dubbed the Antares A-ONE mission, was conducted under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement Orbital entered into with NASA in 2008. Following a successful demonstration mission to the ISS of Orbital?s complete system in mid-2013, including the launch of the first Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft, Orbital will begin regular operational cargo delivery missions to the Space Station under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The $1.9 billion CRS contract calls for the delivery of up to 20,000 kilograms of essential supplies to the ISS over eight separate missions from 2013 to 2016.

In addition to supporting cargo missions to the ISS, the new Antares rocket will offer other commercial, civil government, and defense and intelligence customers affordable and reliable medium-class launch services for medium-class satellites that do not require the industry?s larger, more expensive launch vehicles. Moving upward from its traditional focus on small-class rockets, Orbital?s Antares medium-class launcher will provide a major increase in the payload launch capability that the company can provide to NASA, the U.S. Air Force and other potential customers. It is designed to launch spacecraft weighing up to 14,000 lbs. into low-Earth orbit, as well as lighter-weight payloads into higher-energy orbits.

Orbital?s newest launcher is currently on-ramped to both the NASA Launch Services-2 and the U.S. Air Force?s Orbital/Suborbital Program-3 contracts, enabling the two largest U.S. government space launch customers to order Antares for ?right-size and right-price? launch services for medium-class spacecraft. For more information on Antares, visit http://www.orbital.com/Antares-Cygnus/.

http://youtu.be/sPMRTQXWc2Y

[neoadorable]

Indeed a good one, and glad the launch finally went well. We now have another option.

[DocM]

First ISS mission delayed. This AJ26 seal issue concerns me as during its tests at NASA Stennis an engine leak caused a hellatious fire.

http://www.aviationweek.com/awmobile/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/asd_05_08_2013_p03-02-577058.xml

First flight of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus commercial cargo carrier to the International Space Station will slip at least a month because of a delay of three to four weeks while a surplus Soviet-era engine is replaced on its Antares launch vehicle.

With the delay, Orbital says it will be ready to launch the first complete Antares/Cygnus stack from Wallops Island, Va., in early August instead of late June or early July as originally hoped. However, a potential conflict with the arrival of another Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) could slip the first Cygnus berthing with the ISS into September, Orbital said.

?If the HTV schedule slips, Orbital expects to be ready to go in August,? the company said in a website update. ?If the HTV holds its schedule, Orbital?s Demonstration Mission could be planned for September.?

The ?Demonstration Mission? will mark the final milestone under Orbital?s $288 million Space Act Agreement to develop a commercial resupply route to the space station under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) seed-money effort. If it is successful, the Dulles, Va.-based company can begin delivering cargo to the station under its eight-flight, $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.

>

Orbital flew the Antares for the first time on April 21, demonstrating that the medium-lift rocket could fly from its new state-owned pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seaport on Wallops Island, and separate a simulated Cygnus vehicle.

At the time of that mission the Cygnus to be used in the upcoming Demonstration Flight already had been loaded and fueled at NASA?s Wallops Flight Facility, in preparation for the late June launch date. However, Orbital said it needed to replace one of the two Aerojet AJ26 kerosene-fueled engines in its first stage?to further inspect and confirm a seal is functioning properly,? according to the company website.

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[IsItPluggedIn]

Wow what a load of **** "to further inspect and confirm a seal is functioning properly". They obviously know that its not working properly otherwise they wouldn't delay the launch.

Every time I read an article from these guys, they sound like they dont know what their doing, or have a whole bunch or share holders they are tying to keep in the dark about their issues.

[DocM]

Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo spacecraft is scheduled to fly its first mission to the ISS on September 15, 2013. It will fly on their new Antares launcher.

[DocM]

Cygnus / Antares Demo Mission to ISS is today with a launch window of 10:50 AM to 11:05 AM Eastern time.

Webcast on NASA TV which offers Flash, IOS, Android, HTML5 AND UStream streams.

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/

[Beittil]

The launch appears to be at 10:58 eastern (14:58 GMT) rather than 10:50 judging from the countdown clock :)

[DocM]

Launch nominal - fairing separation good! Fairings failing are what usually cause Orbital problems.

[DocM]

http://www.aviationweek.com/awmobile/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_09_18_2013_p0-618174.xml&p=1

Orbital Sciences Corp. has enough hardware on hand for the 10 commercial cargo missions it has contracted with NASA, and is already looking ahead to the day when it runs out of the surplus Soviet-era Russian engines it uses to power its new Antares launch vehicle.

The Dulles, Va.-based company is on the way to completing its second NASA mission with the safe launch Wednesday of its second and final demonstration mission with the Antares, this one carrying pressurized cargo to the International Space Station in the first full-up Cygnus cargo vehicle to fly.

If all goes well, and the Cygnus is able to demonstrate safe handling before reaching the ISS on Sunday morning, Orbital will be ready as early as Dec. 8-21 to begin fulfilling its eight-flight, $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) to deliver bulk food, clothing and equipment to the station. The mission launched Wednesday completes the company?s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) spacecraft-development agreement with NASA. It carries about 700 kg. of supplies, while early CRS flights will be able to handle as much as 2,000 kg of pressurized cargo, and an enhanced Cygnus would have a 2,700-kg capability.

Frank Culbertson, Orbital executive vice president, told reporters here after the Sept. 18 launch that Aerojet has another 16 AJ-26 engines in stock beyond the 20 Orbital has under subcontract for its NASA COTS and CRS missions. Aerojet modified the surplus Russian Nk-33 engines for the Antares role, and Orbital hopes to use them to meet the launch services market originally carried by the Delta II medium-lift launch vehicle, in addition to the NASA contracts that expire in 2016.

Once the old Russian engines run out, Culbertson said, Orbital has plans to find a replacement that will enable it to continue flying Antares.

?We?re looking at what the options are, who has engines that might be compatible and what?s available and how long would it take to develop and/or order them,? Culbertson said. ?So we?ve got a very active effort going on.?

That effort includes discussions with ?everybody who says they make an engine,? he said. ?We know that sometime after 2016 we need to start looking at other alternatives.?

Meanwhile, Orbital controllers were off to a good start on the COTS demonstration. Culbertson said the Antares placed the Cygnus in a 289-by-257-km orbit, slightly above targets. The solar arrays deployed and began providing electrical power, and all valves opened to pressurize the propulsion system that will be used to pursue the ISS, which was over the Indian Ocean at the 10:58 a.m. EDT liftoff from the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

After a series of thruster burns to raise the orbit toward the station, the controllers plan a demonstration of the Cygnus? ability to navigate using the Global Positioning System. Culbertson said the vehicle will approach the station and back away twice to demonstrate safe handling before going into the final ?R-bar? approach from directly below it. The vehicle is scheduled to hold itself autonomously at a range of 250 meters before moving in close enough for station crewmembers working in the cupola to grapple it with the robotic arm and attach it to the nadir common berthing mechanism on Node 2.

The crew will open the hatch, unload the cargo and begin filling the vehicle with trash and unneeded gear that will ride to a destructive re-entry over the South Pacific east of New Zealand after about a month at the station.

[IsItPluggedIn]

Nice work by them.

 

Once they run out of AJ-26 engines they are going to have to build up their rep again, it seems a bit of an up and down ride for them. I'm sure NASA will want a demonstration flight under the new engines before using them.

 

Doc, do you think SpaceX would supply them engines? After all they are going to be printing them soon aren't they.

[DocM]

Antares uses a Ukrainian made lower stage with Aerojet refurbed Russian NK-33's that were mothballed. Aerojet redesignated them AJ26 and could make more, but at a high cost. There is also a lawsuit to break ULA's monopoly on the RD-180 (used in Atlas V), among other moves to get Orbital replacement engines.

The only SpaceX engine in the pipeline that might have the power is the coming Raptor family, a series of methane/LOX staged combustion powerhouses intended for their next-generation large diameter core. Rumors put the base thrust at 650,000 lbf/chamber with 7-10 meter diameter tanks and multiple engines in up to 3 cores. Other rumors say Raptor could be scaled to be larger than the Saturn V's F1. Big. Maybe too big for Antares, with no guarantee SpaceX would sell their goods.

For now printing is limited to valves etc. and the SuperDraco thrusters which run about 24,000 lbf each. Give 'em time.

[DocM]

http://spaceref.biz/2013/09/cygnus-mission-update-iss-rendezvous-postponed-for-24-hours.html

Cygnus Mission Update: ISS Rendezvous Postponed for 24 Hours

Following the discovery of a data format discrepancy between an on-board International Space Station (ISS) navigation system and a similar system on Cygnus at around 1:30 a.m. this morning, today's rendezvous with the station was postponed. At this time, NASA and Orbital are developing a detailed plan for a second rendezvous attempt early Tuesday morning.

A software update has been developed and will be tested on a ground-based simulator during the day on Sunday. Upload to Cygnus and in-orbit testing of the software "patch" is planned for Sunday night and into Monday morning. Once this has been accomplished and verified, the current plan is for Cygnus to begin a second rendezvous approach late Monday night, with final approach to the ISS and grapple taking place early Tuesday morning. The Cygnus spacecraft remains healthy, with all major subsystems operating as expected.

Cygnus was launched into low Earth orbit aboard Orbital's Antares rocket from Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia on September 18, 2013. The goal of the mission is to demonstrate the complete Orbital commercial delivery system from the launch of the Cygnus advanced cargo logistics spacecraft aboard Antares and the rendezvous of Cygnus with the ISS, through unloading of cargo from Cygnus and loading of disposal cargo, to Cygnus departure from the ISS and reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

The Orb-D1 mission is the final development milestone under the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) agreement. With the successful completion of the COTS mission, Orbital is slated to deliver up to 20,000 kg of supplies over eight missions to the ISS under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA through 2016.

[Beittil]

 

Orbital Sciences ?@OrbitalSciences 25s

#Cygnus rendezvous with @ISS_research now scheduled for no earlier than Saturday 9/28 after #Soyuz. See statement: http://www.orbital.com/Antares-Cygnus/

Orbital & NASA decided to postpone the whole thing untill after the arrival of the new crew by Soyuz this wednesday!

[DocM]

The whole thing is rather silly. The problem is very simple and easy to correct (but also embargoed so I can't elaborate) but here we are.

[FloatingFatMan]

The whole thing is rather silly. The problem is very simple and easy to correct (but also embargoed so I can't elaborate) but here we are.

 

 

LEAK LEAK LEAK LEAK LEAK LEAK LEAK!!

[DocM]

Orbital & NASA decided to postpone the whole thing untill after the arrival of the new crew by Soyuz this wednesday!

It's now moved to NET* Saturday.

* no earlier than

[geertd]

going to be a busy weekend sygnus on saturday and spacex on sunday

[DocM]

There's also a Soyuz launch Wednesday at 2058 GMT (4:58 PM EDT), and a Proton launch on Sunday at 2138 GMT (5:38 PM EDT.) Busy week.

[FloatingFatMan]

There's also a Soyuz launch Wednesday at 2058 GMT (4:58 PM EDT), and a Proton launch on Sunday at 2138 GMT (5:38 PM EDT.) Busy week.

 

If you're going to that one, remember to duck! :p

[DocM]

This could be the safest Proton launch ever because.of the heavy scrutiny - if it screws up it'll be hard to sell another.

Russia really needs to get cracking on the Angara launcher so they can replace Soyuz and Proton. Soyuz because of its payload mass restrictions and Proton for obvious reasons.

[DocM]

Cygnus berthing has slipped to Sunday. With Soyuz arriving after its launch and having to back Cygnus off to test its s/w patch time ran out for Saturday.

[DocM]

And to make today even more perfect after the SpaceX launch, Cygnus successfully berthed at the ISS today.

A great day for the commercial space programs. It's getting harder and harder for the "old guard" and their flunky boo-birds in Congress to ignore them.

[IsItPluggedIn]

Cargo delivered to the International Space Station by Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft is now completely unloaded from the commercial resupply ship and aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Astronauts on the space station opened Cygnus' hatch on Sept. 30 after its historic first launch atop an Antares rocket from NASA's Wallops Island Flight Facility on Sept. 18. After launch, mission controllers on the ground tookCygnus through a variety of test maneuvers before it was allowed to approach the station.

Once the supply ship leaves the station, it is designed burn up in Earth's atmosphere. International Space Station crewmembers have now loaded a layer of trash onto Cygnus. "The crew will be working this week loading the second layer of trash," Orbital Sciences officials wrote in a mission update on Oct. 7. The third layer will be loaded the week of Oct. 14, and the capsule is set to leave the station on Oct. 22, re-entering the atmosphere on Oct. 24, Orbital officials said.

 

Linky

[Beittil]

Cygnus has departed from the station just now, over the past hour the bolts fixing it to the station were released. It was unberthed, placed at the drop point by the Canadarm2 and released. Currently it is backing away from the station and it will burn up in during reentry tomorrow!

[DocM]

Yup - Orbital Sciences did well, and they have received their NASA commercial resupply contract. They may also enlarge Cygnus after an expected upgrade of the Antares launcher.

OTOH, JAXA (Japan) is hinting they will "reconsider" continuing their HTV resupply vehicle after HTV-7. Compared to Cygnus and Dragon HTV and Europe's ATV are very expensive.