Schedule update: Orbital Sciences will do a hot fire launchpad test of its Antares rocket in January, followed by a test launch to orbit in February, and a first flight of the Cygnus capsule in April.
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“followed by a test launch to orbit in February,”
I love living in a time when getting to orbit is a routine part of a test program, and not the final objective.
I am not overly optimistic about this rocket. Everything from its Franken nature, rebranding, to issues with other company operations is a little disturbing.
I hope they succeed and make some money off this segment of the industry.
It would be really interesting to do a case study on the business side of their operations. I think I would have some philosophical differences with their long term strategy. Maybe working closely with the government has crushed their soul.