posted 03-19-2014 05:15 PM               

Orbital Sciences announces May 6 target for launch of next commercial cargo resupply (CRS) mission to the ISS

Orbital Sciences Corporation today (March 19) announced that it is targeting a "no-earlier-than" date of May 6, 2014 for the launch of its next commercial cargo resupply (CRS) mission to the International Space Station.

The mission will originate from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) located in Eastern Virginia. The targeted launch time for the Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft is 3:44 p.m. EDT (1944 GMT), which is at the beginning of a 5-minute launch window that extends to 3:49 p.m. EDT (1949 GMT).

This mission, known as Orb-2, will represent the third time Orbital's Cygnus spacecraft will have delivered cargo to the ISS, including the demonstration mission under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement that was completed in October 2013 and the first of eight CRS missions, Orb-1, completed in February 2014.

At the completion of the Orb-2 mission, Orbital's system will have delivered approximately 8,400 lbs. (about 3,800 kilos) of cargo to support the Expedition crews conducting research and living aboard the ISS. The Orb-2 mission will also represent the fourth launch of the medium-class Antares rocket in its first 13 months of operations, a significant achievement for a new rocket program.

More information about the upcoming mission will be made available by Orbital and NASA in the coming weeks, including details of the cargo and scientific experiments to be delivered to the Station by Cygnus.

posted 04-23-2014 02:11 PM               

Orbital retargets June 9 for Cygnus flight

Orbital Sciences is targeting the upcoming cargo logistics mission to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA for the week of June 9.

With the successful berthing of the SpaceX Dragon capsule at the space station, a crew rotation and a "solar beta cutout" also to occur in May, the earliest date that Orbital can launch will be during the second week in June.

Orbital's Antares and Cygnus teams have made great progress in preparing for this mission. The Cygnus spacecraft is currently loaded with 1,083 kg of NASA cargo, approximately 65% of the planned total cargo load.

The team has also been completing final Cygnus closeouts and has transferred the integrated Cygnus spacecraft from the payload processing facility on the Wallops main base to the fueling facility on Wallops Island. Fueling will take place in the near future.

The remaining cargo, some of which is time sensitive, will be loaded just prior to the encapsulation of the spacecraft within the Antares rocket's fairing.

The Antares team continues to prepare the rocket for the mission, conducting final testing and preparing for the integration of Cygnus with the vehicle's upper stage.

The Cygnus and Antares team also completed the Flight Readiness Certification Review (FRCR) on April 15, assessing the current status of the spacecraft and the rocket and the team's readiness to support the Orb-2 mission operations.

posted 05-28-2014 10:59 AM               

Orbital has rescheduled the launch of its Antares rocket for the Orb-2 mission to a date of no earlier than (NET) June 17, 2014.

The new launch schedule has been established to allow the engineering teams from the main stage propulsion supplier Aerojet Rocketdyne and Orbital to investigate the causes of an AJ26 engine failure that occurred last week at NASA's Stennis Space Center during customary acceptance testing. That engine was designated for use in a mission slated for 2015 and was undergoing hot fire testing that all Antares AJ26 engines are subject to in order to ensure nominal performance and acceptance for use in Antares missions.

The NET June 17 is a planning date. The determination of a new firm date will depend on progress of the investigation team, so please check back to this page for further updates.

posted 06-09-2014 09:59 AM               

Orbital's Second Cygnus Resupply Mission To The International Space Station Postponed

Next Launch Opportunity is No Earlier Than July 1

Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world's leading space technology companies, today (June 9) announced that it has updated its Antares launch schedule for the Orb-2 mission to a date no earlier than (NET) July 1, 2014. Orb-2 is the second of eight cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station under the company's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.

The new launch schedule reflects the timing of the investigation into the cause of an AJ26 engine failure that occurred in late May at NASA's Stennis Space Center during customary acceptance testing. All other elements of the Orb-2 mission are prepared to move forward, including the Cygnus spacecraft, which is fueled and, except for late-load cargo, is packed with its manifest of ISS cargo.

The engine that failed was designated for use in a 2015 CRS mission and was undergoing hot fire testing that all Antares AJ26 engines are subject to in order to ensure nominal performance and acceptance for use in Antares missions. The investigation into the failure is being led by the Antares main stage propulsion supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne, with Orbital and NASA engineers also supporting the effort.

Once the investigation team reaches the point in their process that they can clear Antares to launch the Orb-2 mission, a targeted launch date will be established. For now, NET July 1 is simply a planning date.

posted 06-23-2014 11:01 AM               

Orbital has updated its launch schedule for the Orb-2 mission to a date no earlier than July 10, 2014.

The new launch schedule reflects progress in the investigation into the cause of an AJ26 engine test failure and identification of specific actions to clear the Orb-2 mission for flight.

The Antares team will inspect the AJ26 engines installed on the Orb-2 rocket this week, and a decision to proceed toward launch will be based on the results of the inspections. All other elements of the Orb-2 mission are prepared to move forward, including the Cygnus spacecraft, which is fueled and, except for late-load cargo, is packed with its manifest of ISS cargo.

posted 07-03-2014 09:05 AM               

Orbital has established July 11, 2014 as the targeted date for the launch of the Orb-2 mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the second operational cargo resupply mission under the company's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The targeted launch time from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on July 11 will be 12:40 p.m. CDT (1740 GMT).

The engineering team that is investigating the failure of an AJ26 engine during an acceptance test at Stennis Space Center recommended that certain inspections be performed on the two AJ26 engines that are currently integrated on the Antares rocket. These inspections were recently completed and program officials have cleared the rocket for flight.

Leading up to the launch, the Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft will be mated to the rocket today (July 3). After the loading of the final time sensitive cargo and installation of the rocket's payload fairing, Antares will be rolled out to the launch pad on July 9.

A launch on July 11 will result in a rendezvous and berthing with the ISS on July 15. The Cygnus spacecraft will deliver 1,657 kg of cargo to the ISS and will be loaded with approximately 1,346 kg of material for disposal upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere.

posted 07-09-2014 06:26 AM               

On July 8, Orbital Sciences Corporation's operations team loaded the final cargo into the Cygnus spacecraft bound for the International Space Station. Orbital's Antares rocket carrying the company's Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft is scheduled to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Eastern Virginia on Friday, July 11.

Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus spacecraft was encapsulated within the protective fairing of the Antares rocket as final preparations continue for the upcoming delivery of cargo to the International Space Station.

posted 07-09-2014 02:04 PM               

Orbital announced today (July 9) that the launch of Antares for the Orb-2 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station has been rescheduled for Saturday, July 12 at 1:14 p.m. EDT (1814 GMT).

Due to severe thunderstorms in the Wallops area the night of Tuesday, July 8, the rollout of the Antares rocket to its launch pad at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport scheduled for this morning was delayed resulting in a compression of the operational schedule leading to the launch. This afternoon, the company's launch team determined the best course of action would be to postpone the launch one day to allow for normal launch operations processing.

Despite the one day schedule slip, Cygnus will still arrive at the ISS on July 15 with berthing scheduled at approximately 7:24 a.m. EDT.

posted 07-10-2014 08:47 AM               

Orbital's Antares rocket rolls out to launch pad

Thursday (July 10), Orbital Sciences Corporation's operations team rolled out the Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo logistics resupply vehicle for its launch to the International Space Station.

The Orb-2 mission is scheduled to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Eastern Virginia on Saturday, July 12.

Photo credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

posted 07-11-2014 07:49 AM               

Orbital announced this morning (July 11) that the launch of the Antares rocket for the Orb-2 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station for NASA has been rescheduled for Sunday, July 13 at 12:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT).

Over the past several days, Orbital's launch team has made great progress in preparing the rocket for the Orb-2 mission, which will be the fourth flight of Antares in the past 15 months. However, severe weather in the Wallops area has repeatedly interrupted the team's normal operational schedule leading up to the launch. As a result, these activities have taken longer than expected.

Orbital has decided to postpone the Orb-2 mission by an additional day in order to maintain normal launch operations processing.

With its launch moved to Sunday, Cygnus is now scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Wednesday, July 16 with grapple by the station's robotic arm scheduled for approximately 6:37 a.m. EDT (1137 GMT).

posted 07-12-2014 02:39 PM               

At a Launch Readiness Review Saturday, managers for Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Virginia, and NASA gave a "go" to proceed toward the Sunday (July 13) launch of the Orb-2 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

Orbital is targeting a 12:52 p.m. EDT launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

There is a 90 percent chance of favorable weather at the time of launch.

posted 07-13-2014 12:07 PM               

SS Janice Voss takes flight: Station-bound spaceship a 'fitting tribute' to astronaut

Astronaut Janice Voss never flew to the International Space Station. But in her memory, her name is making the trip on a spacecraft christened in her honor.

Orbital Sciences launched the SpaceShip Janice Voss on Sunday afternoon (July 13) from a pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The unmanned cargo freighter is set to arrive at the space station on Wednesday.

"Janice was a friend of many of us, both in the Orbital and NASA communities," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital's vice president and a former NASA astronaut, about Voss, who worked for Orbital as an engineer before flying five times as a NASA space shuttle mission specialist. "We wanted to honor her and her family by naming this spacecraft for [her]. We think it is a fitting tribute to a really fine engineer and outstanding astronaut."

posted 07-16-2014 06:16 AM               

SS Janice Voss arrives at space station

The Expedition 40 crew welcomed more than a ton and a half of science, supplies and spacewalking equipment to the International Space Station Wednesday (July 16) with the arrival of SpaceShip Janice Voss, an Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo spacecraft.

With the Janice Voss securely in the grasp of the Canadarm2 robotic arm, the robotics officer at Mission Control in Houston remotely operated the arm to guide the cargo craft to its berthing port on the Earth-facing side of the Harmony module. Once the Cygnus was in position, flight engineer Reid Wiseman monitored the Common Berthing Mechanism operations for first and second stage capture of the cargo ship, assuring that the vehicle was securely attached to the station with a hard mate.

Second stage capture was completed at 7:53 a.m. EDT (1253 GMT).

The Janice Voss was grappled at 5:36 a.m. as it flew within about 32 feet of the complex by commander Steve Swanson — with assistance from flight engineer Alexander Gerst — as he controlled the 57-foot Canadarm2 from a robotics workstation inside the station's cupola. Wiseman joined his crewmates in the seven-windowed cupola to assist with the capture and help coordinate the activities. At the time of capture, the orbital laboratory was flying around 260 statute miles over northern Libya.

After Wiseman removes the Centerline Berthing Camera System that provided the teams with a view of berthing operations through the hatch window, he will pressurize the vestibule between Harmony and the newly arrived cargo craft and conduct a leak check. Once that is complete, Swanson and Gerst will open the hatch to the vestibule and outfit the area for the opening of Cygnus' hatch around 6 a.m. Thursday.

posted 08-15-2014 07:33 AM               

SS Janice Voss departs space station

Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo freighter, the SpaceShip Janice Voss, completed a month-long delivery mission to the International Space Station on Friday (Aug. 15) when it was released from the grapple of the Canadarm2 robotic arm at 5:40 a.m. CDT (1040 GMT).

The SS Janice Voss is now orbiting on its own, separating from the station and heading for a deorbit and a fiery reentry over the Pacific Ocean on Sunday.

Expedition 40 flight engineers Alexander Gerst and Reid Wiseman were inside the space station's cupola remotely controlling the 58-foot Canadian arm from the robotics workstation. Gerst, who was backed up by Wiseman, was in charge of releasing the resupply vehicle after ground controllers at Mission Control, Houston remotely maneuvered it into the release position following its unberthing from the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module.

Filled with trash, Cygnus completed its second commercial resupply mission for NASA. Orbital Sciences launched the spacecraft July 13 atop an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. At least six more missions will be flown by Cygnus to the station through 2016.

The Expedition 40 crewmembers hope to document Cygnus' reentry Sunday as part of an engineering exercise to study the mechanics of the breakup of a space vehicle. The SS Janice Voss is scheduled to deorbit Sunday around 7:30 a.m. CDT (1230 GMT).