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Commercial Cargo Module Arrives at Wallops
The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Orbital Sciences Corp. a license to launch a demonstration flight to the International Space Station early next year, the company announced today.
The first launch of Orbital's Cygnus cargo module atop a Taurus II rocket is tentatively planned in late February from Wallops Island, Va.
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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced today that along with NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation, the team conducted a successful ground test firing of an AJ26-62 flight engine that will power Orbital’s Taurus® II medium-class space launch vehicle. The test was conducted at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
“The successful test is a testament to our strong belief in collaboration and commitment,” said Executive Director of Space and Launch Systems, Pete Cova. “Successful engine testing, integration and deliveries are evidence of the strong partnerships that Aerojet has with Orbital, along with NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Wallops Flight Facility and Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE).”
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NASA PR — A team of engineers at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center conducted a test firing on an Aerojet AJ26 flight engine Nov. 17, providing continued support to Orbital Sciences Corporation as it prepares to launch commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station.
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ATK PR — ATK (NYSE: ATK) was awarded a $20 million contract by Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) to provide its UltraFlex™ solar arrays to power Orbital’s enhanced Cygnus™ cargo logistics space vehicle, which is being utilized under NASA’s Commercial Resupply System contract.
The disk-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays measure more than 11 feet in diameter and are made of ultra-lightweight materials that provide high strength and stiffness as well as compact stowage volume. With the same power but at a significantly reduced mass from the original arrays, the UltraFlex solar arrays will contribute to an overall increased payload capability of the enhanced Cygnus vehicle to provide resupply services to the International Space Station.
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Orbital Sciences Corporation’s new launch vehicle – currently being developed as a simple solution to continue to support the medium class satellite market, as well as to loft much-needed cargo to the International Space Station via the company’s Cygnus spacecraft – has changed its name from Taurus II to the Antares.
Name Change:
In announcing the change for the permanent operational name for the medium-class launch vehicle created by its research and development program formerly known as Taurus II, Orbital noted they felt the new launch vehicle deserved a name of its own, as opposed to carrying on the Taurus call sign.
Orbital selected the name in keeping with the company’s tradition of using Greek-derived celestial names for launch vehicles. Antares is one of the brightest stars in the sky. Classified as a “supergiant” star, it is located in the constellation Scorpius and has a red hue when observed by the naked eye.
Antares was also the name for the Apollo 14 lunar module.
“We are transitioning to the Antares identity primarily because a launch vehicle of this scale and significance deserves its own name, just like Orbital’s Pegasus, Taurus and Minotaur rocket programs that have come before it,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
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Errr....does Orbital Sciences Corporation know that "Antares" is a FOI registered trademark??
:lol:
WASHINGTON — A hold-down test of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, a prerequisite for the launch vehicle’s maiden flight, likely will not be completed before April because of ongoing tests and certification work on the vehicle’s launch pad at Wallops Island, Va., a launch official said.
“It’s really an integrated form of testing that's going on now, as we speak, and we're looking at completing that, hopefully, by the first of April,” Billie Reed, director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, told Space News Jan. 16.
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OSC PR — Today, Orbital updated its 2012 COTS and CRS operational schedules. Gone is our colorful Development and Flight Milestones chart, now that we’re in the homestretch to our four major milestones for the year, which are as follows:*Orbital’s operational dates are subject to coordination with NASA’s ISS cargo delivery schedule
- May – Antares First-Stage Static Fire Test at Wallops
- June – Antares Test Flight for COTS
- Third quarter – COTS Demonstration Mission*
- Fourth quarter – CRS Mission #1*
The Antares first stage core at Wallops Island.
Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation
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PARIS — Rocket and satellite builder Orbital Sciences Corp. on Feb. 21 said its program to provide commercial cargo services to the international space station under a NASA contract has fallen a further four months behind schedule, with a test flight of the unmanned freighter now scheduled to occur no earlier than August or September.
As was the case with the previous schedule slip, Dulles, Va.-based Orbital placed the blame for the delays squarely on the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which is responsible for preparing the launch pad for Orbital’s Antares rocket — formerly named Taurus 2 — and its Cygnus space station cargo module.
In a conference call with investors, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson said even this revised schedule “is not a slam dunk” and requires that a series of key milestones go without a hitch.
These milestones begin with the completion of construction of pad facilities including propellant handling and pressurization systems at the Wallops Island, Va., spaceport, which should happen by early March, Thompson said. The entire facility will then need to be NASA-certified as operational, a process that could be completed by late April.
The Antares first stage then could be placed on the pad and test fired in May. Assuming no anomalies in this activity, a test flight of Antares without the Cygnus cargo carrier could occur in June or July. A smooth flight would pave the way for a test flight of Antares and its Cygnus module by September, a mission during which Cygnus would approach the space station and then be grappled by the station’s robotic arm and attached to the orbital outpost.
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Barring additional difficulties getting a new launch pad ready at Wallops Island, Va., Orbital Sciences Corp. expects to begin fit checks and other pad work with its first Antares cargo launch vehicle late next month or early in April.
That would clear the way for a first launch of the liquid-fueled rocket late in June or early in July, and its first flight to the International Space Station with a load of cargo late in August or in September. Conceivably the first mission under the company’s eight-flight, $1.9 billion commercial resupply services (CRS) contract with NASA could come before the end of the year.
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