Next Cygnus/Antares launch to ISS set for October 27
Orbital Sciences has now scheduled the launch of its next cargo run to ISS for Monday October 27.
Tag: Antares
Orbital Sciences schedules next Cygnus cargo launch
The competition heats up: The next Cygnus cargo mission to ISS has now been scheduled to launch no earlier than October 24.
The date was determined by many factors, including the work schedule on ISS as well as other planned launches to ISS.
A decision in November on Orbital’s reliance on Russian engines in Antares
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences has announced that it will make a decision in November on replacing the Russian rocket engine that it uses in its Antares commercial rocket.
In a presentation at the 65th International Astronautical Congress here, Orbital Executive Vice President Frank Culbertson said the engine decision is linked to the company’s proposal for NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS)2 competition. NASA issued the request for proposals for CRS2 on Sept. 26, with responses due Nov. 14. “We’ll make sure we’ll have a decision on that before we submit the proposal,” Culbertson said when asked about the status of the engine decision.
Orbital has been weighing for several months a replacement for the AJ-26 engines that Antares currently uses. Those engines, provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne, are refurbished versions of Soviet-era NK-33 engines originally designed for the N-1 lunar rocket developed in the 1960s.
The company is considering several proposals, including one from ATK, which is in the process of merging with Orbital at this very moment.
The article also notes that Orbital recognizes that the use of Russian engines will likely work against them in the competition to win the next ISS cargo contract, and that if they don’t have a plan to replace those engines it is quite possible that NASA will go with a different company, such as Sierra Nevada, when it awards that contract.
As I said already, oh how I love competition.
Antares to launch polar orbiting satellites?
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences expects within a year to get government approval to use its Antares rocket to launch sun-synchronous satellites from its launch facility at Wallops Island, Virginia.
Currently Antares is used to launch cargo resupply missions to the international space station, whose orbital inclination — the angle at which it passes over the equator — of 51.6 degrees dictates that the rocket follow a southeasterly flight path over the Atlantic Ocean. To reach high-inclination orbits, the vehicle would presumably need to fly more directly toward the equator.
Among the details to be settled is the exact configuration of the Antares rocket Orbital would use to place satellites into sun-synchronous orbits, which are commonly used for Earth observation missions. The Antares rockets flown to date have been two-stage vehicles, but the company offers three-stage versions for missions with more stringent orbital-insertion accuracy or high-energy requirements.
The issue here is making sure the rocket stays clear of population areas during launch. An almost due south launch path, needed for polar orbit from Wallops Island, would pass this test.
Orbital plans upgrade to Antares
The competition heats up: On its next cargo mission to ISS Orbital Sciences plans on launching an upgraded Antares rocket.
For its third paid cargo mission to station, slated to launch Oct. 21, Orbital will replace the ATK Castor 30B Antares used for its latest launch with an ATK Castor 30XL. The upgrade will allow Cygnus to carry about 2,290 kilograms of cargo to station — an increase of nearly 40 percent by mass, compared with the second mission, according to Orbital’s Aug. 18 press release.
The Castor 30XL is the latest in the Castor 30 series ATK developed specifically as an Antares upper stage. A pair of Antares demonstration launches in 2013, which did not count toward fulfilling the company’s delivery-and-disposal contract with NASA, used the Castor 30A. ATK has lengthened subsequent versions of the motor, squeezing more power out of it by packing it full of more solid fuel.
Like SpaceX, Orbital Sciences is demonstrating the ability here to do operational missions simultaneously with developmental missions.
Cygnus berthes with ISS
The spacecraft rendezvoused with ISS this morning as scheduled and was berthed to the station slightly ahead of scehdule.
Cygnus launch
All is go for a 12:52 pm launch of Cygnus’s second operational cargo flight to ISS.
If you live on the east coast of the U.S. you should be able to see some part of this launch when it happens.
Cygnus has lifted off.
The main engine has cut off and the first stage has successfully separated.
The second stage has ignited successfully. It has now completed its burn and has separated from the spacecraft. Cygnus is in orbit.
Cygnus launch delayed again
Because the severe weather conditions at Wallops Island have interfered with preparing Antares and Cygnus for launch, Orbital Sciences announced today another 24 hour launch delay, rescheduling it now for Sunday, July 13, at 12:52 pm (Eastern).
Cygnus launch delayed due to weather
Friday’s Cygnus launch to ISS has been delayed 24 hours because of a threat of thundershowers in Florida. Virginia.
Thanks to Dick for spotting my error. I typed Florida out of habit. This launch will be at Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
Cygnus/Antares launch date scheduled
Orbital Sciences has set July 11 as the launch date for its next Cygnus cargo mission to ISS.
They have concluded their inspection of the refurbished Russian engines on the Antares rocket and are satisfied it does not have the problems that caused another engine to blow up during tests.
Orbital to inspect Antares’ Russian engines.
It appears that yesterday’s delay in the next Cygnus/Antares launch was to allow engineers time to inspect the rocket’s Russian engines.
They want to make sure that these engines do not have the same problem that caused another Russian engine to blow up on a test stand in May.
Orbital Sciences has delayed its next Cygnus cargo launch to ISS until July 10 at the earliest.
Orbital Sciences has delayed its next Cygnus cargo launch to ISS until July 10 at the earliest.
This delay is in connection with their on-going investigation into the failure of a Russian engine during testing, the same kind of engine used by the Antares rocket.
Orbital Sciences has announced a further delay to July 1 for the next Antares/Cygnus cargo mission to ISS in order to complete its investigation into the failure of a Russian engine during testing.
Orbital Sciences has announced a further delay to July 1 for the next Antares/Cygnus cargo mission to ISS in order to complete its investigation into the failure of a Russian engine during testing.
The total delay is now about a month. The press release provides no information as to the status of the investigation, so why it is taking longer than originally expected is unexplained.
Aerojet Rocketdyne says it can replace the Russian rocket engines used by American rockets for $20 to $25 million per engine.
The competition heats up: Aerojet Rocketdyne says it can replace the Russian rocket engines used by American rockets for $20 to $25 million per engine.
Including legacy systems and various risk-reduction projects, Aerojet Rocketdyne has spent roughly $300 million working on technologies that will feed into the AR-1, Seymour said during a June 3 roundtable with Aviation Week editors. The effort to build a new, 500,000-lb. thrust liquid oxygen/kerosene propulsion system would take about four years from contract award and cost roughly $800 million to $1 billion. Such an engine is eyed for United Launch Alliance’s (ULA) Atlas V rocket as well as Orbital’s Antares and, possibly, Space Exploration Technology’s Falcon 9 v1.1.
This is roughly the same price cited for the cost of standing up U.S. co-production of the RD-180 engine, which is manufactured by NPO Energomash of Russia and sold to ULA for the Atlas V through a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney.
Unfortunately, this announcement is part of a lobbying effort to get Congress to fund the new engine rather than a commitment by Aerojet to build it themselves. Thus, I fully expect them to go over budget and for the engine to cost significantly more once in production, facts that will make it less competitive in the future.
Orbital Sciences has delayed its next Cygnus flight to ISS by at least one week in order to complete its investigation of the failure of a Russian-built rocket engine used by the Antares rocket.
Orbital Sciences has delayed its next Cygnus flight to ISS by at least one week in order to complete its investigation of the failure of a Russian-built rocket engine used by the Antares rocket.
Without doubt, this engine failure highlights the urgent need for American rocket companies to develop their own rocket engines.
A refurbished Russian rocket engine, to be used by the Antares rocket, failed during tests
A refurbished Russian rocket engine, to be used by the Antares rocket, failed during tests on Thursday.
This report says that the engine might even have exploded firing the test firing.
Orbital Sciences is considering using ATK’s solid rocket motors to replace the refurbished Russian engines in the first stage of its Antares rocket.
Orbital Sciences is considering using ATK’s solid rocket motors to replace the refurbished Russian engines in the first stage of its Antares rocket.
This helps explain the merger between the two companies, as it gives Orbital control over the equipment it needs to keep Antares viable. More important, it also could make it entirely American made, which will be attractive to both Congress and many U.S. commercial satellite companies.
Orbital Sciences intends to use an upgraded Antares rocket as its contribution to Stratolaunch.
The competition heats up: Orbital Sciences intends to use an upgraded Antares rocket as its contribution to Stratolaunch.
Part of the upgrades appear to be making sure Antares has an available replacement engine for the refurbished Soviet-era engines Antares is now using.
Orbital Sciences is considering three different bids to provide the company new engines for its Antares rocket.
Orbital Sciences is considering three different bids to provide the company new engines for its Antares rocket.
The engine presently used is from a stock of refurbished Russian engines first built in the late 1960s for the Soviet Union’s N1 rocket, designed to send humans to the Moon.
Orbital Sciences has set May 6 as the launch date for its next Cygnus cargo mission to ISS.
Orbital Sciences has set May 6 as the launch date for its next Cygnus cargo mission to ISS.