Posted on June 13, 2013, at 4:17 pm .
NASA’s Office of Inspector General has issued a report saying the space agency has taken on too much financial risk in Orbital Sciences Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract by funding future missions before the company has demonstrated the capacity to deliver cargo to the International Space Station.
Although we do not second guess NASA’s decision to concurrently fund up to three rocket systems given the critical need for additional ISS resupply capabilities, in the case of Orbital, NASA will fully or partially fund six rocket systems under the CRS contract before Orbital has fully demonstrated its spaceflight system.
Continue reading ‘NASA IG: Agency Accepted Too Much Financial Risk in Orbital’s CRS Contract’
Posted on June 13, 2013, at 10:28 am .
Atlas V launches OTV3 into orbit from Cape Canaveral. (Credit: Pat Corkery, United Launch Alliance.)
Reuters reports on a FTC investigation of United Launch Alliance for allegedly denying Orbital Sciences the ability to purchase RD-180 engines for the Antares launch vehicle:
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating whether United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co, violated federal antitrust laws by “monopolizing” or restraining competition through an exclusivity agreement with the maker of the engines used in its rockets, according to a FTC document obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.
Continue reading ‘FTC Investigating ULA for Alleged Anti-Trust Actions’
Posted on June 5, 2013, at 8:38 am .
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it launches from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Photo (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
WASHINGTON, DC (NASA PR) – The successful launch of Orbital Science Corporation’s Antares rocket brings the United States one step closer to having two fully-functional cargo ships available to ferry vital experiments, cargo and supplies to the International Space Station.
Continue reading ‘NASA: Antares Launch Proves Wisdom of Redundant Cargo Systems’
Posted on June 3, 2013, at 1:46 pm .
The new design of Stratolaunch’s carrier aircraft. (Credit: Stratolaunch Systems)
HUNTSVILLE, ALA., June 3, 2013 (Stratolaunch PR) – Stratolaunch Systems today announced that space technology leader Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) will join its team to develop, build and operate the redesigned Stratolaunch air-launch rocket system. Orbital’s involvement is key in realizing Stratolaunch System’s vision to provide orbital access with greater safety, cost-effectiveness and flexibility.
Continue reading ‘Stratolaunch Formalizes Orbital Sciences Partnership’
Posted on May 6, 2013, at 6:25 pm .
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen as it launches from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, Sunday, April 21, 2013. The test launch marked the first flight of Antares and the first rocket launch from Pad-0A. The Antares rocket delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft, a so-called mass simulated payload, into Earth’s orbit. Photo (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
DULLES, Virg. (Orbital PR) – In the two weeks following the successful debut fight of the Antares rocket on April 21, the program’s technical team gathered and analyzed large volumes of data collected during the A-ONE mission’s countdown, ignition and lift-off, and flight sequence. This data is used to validate that the launch vehicle’s propulsion, navigation and other major subsystems, as well as the supporting ground systems, all performed as designed.
The Antares team’s conclusion was definitive: the rocket’s first- and second-stage performance was right on the mark; the stage and fairing separation events were performed exactly as planned; and the data gathered from the heavily instrumented mass simulator payload confirmed Orbital’s engineering models that predicted a benign launch environment for Cygnus and other future satellite payloads in terms of the thermal, acoustic, vibration, acceleration and other measurements captured during the flight.
Continue reading ‘Orbital Says Antares Performance Right on the Money, ISS Flight Set for Late Summer’
Posted on April 25, 2013, at 2:44 pm .
CCP Spotlight on Development
Via NASA
Elements of Sierra Nevada Corp. Space Systems’ Dream Chaser design will undergo significant testing this month, including evaluations of the Thermal Protection System in a phosphor thermography wind tunnel. The Thermal Protection System, or TPS, is the heat shield that keeps super-heated plasma from damaging the spacecraft as it enters Earth’s atmosphere.
The plasma is created by friction between the spacecraft, which is flying in at more than 17,000 mph, and the air in the upper reaches of the atmosphere. The heat shield for the Dream Chaser also challenges designers because it has to hug the aerodynamic form of the spacecraft that is designed to glide to a runway landing after returning from space.
To learn more about NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and its partners, visit our web page.
Posted on April 23, 2013, at 10:58 am .
Orbital Propulsion Team members in SCAPE suits. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)
WALLOPS ISLAND, VA (Orbital PR) – While all eyes have been on Antares in the recent weeks, our Cygnus spacecraft has achieved many significant firsts as it prepares for its maiden voyage to the International Space Station. After initial cargo installation at Wallops Flight Facility building H-100 and the first-time mating of the Cygnus Service and Cargo Modules, Cygnus completed its next milestone by completing its Launch-Site Integrated Systems Test and its transfer from the Wallops Main Base to the Wallops Fueling Facility, on Wallops Island, just north of the Antares launch site.
Continue reading ‘Cygnus Fueled at Wallops Flight Facility’
Posted on April 21, 2013, at 5:54 pm .
Arlington, Va., April 21, 2013 (ATK PR) – ATK’s CASTOR® 30 upper stage solid rocket motor supported the successful flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s (NYSE:ORB) Antares rocket as it lifted off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 5:00 p.m. EDT with the Cygnus mass simulator payload. This was the test flight of the new Antares launch vehicle.
Continue reading ‘ATK’s CASTOR 30 Motor Supports Successful Antares Test Flight’
Posted on April 20, 2013, at 4:18 pm .
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in Virginia. NASA’s commercial space partner, Orbital Sciences Corporation, is scheduled to launch Antares on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Dulles, VA, 20 April 2013 (Orbital PR) – Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that excessive, high-altitude wind speeds prevented the planned April 20 launch attempt of the Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.
“Given the winds and wind direction, the debris requirement for the Range and Federal Aviation Administration could not be achieved today,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and Mission Director for the Antares Test Flight. “This requirement keeps any potential debris from falling outside of a predefined area in the event of an anomaly. Flight requirements dictate that we stop the countdown and pick it up when the conditions improve.”
The next launch attempt is scheduled to take place no earlier than Sunday, April 21, with a window extending from 5 – 8 p.m. EDT. NASA TV and webcast launch coverage will begin at 4:30 p.m. EDT on www.NASA.gov.
Posted on April 18, 2013, at 11:35 am .
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in Virginia. NASA’s commercial space partner, Orbital Sciences Corporation, is scheduled to launch Antares on Wednesday, April 17, 2013. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
UPDATE: Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that the next launch attempt for the new Antares rocket will be no earlier than Saturday, April 20, at 5 p.m. The mission management team met this afternoon to evaluate weather forecasts and optimum crew work schedules to provide two back-to-back opportunities for a launch attempt.
Weather conditions deteriorate on Friday, April 19, but improve significantly over the next two days increasing the chances for acceptable conditions at launch time. This also allows the Antares launch team a day of rest before back-to-back opportunities on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21.
DULLES, VA, 18 April 2013 (Orbital PR) – Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that the Antares team has developed a go-forward plan to address the umbilical disconnect issue that resulted in the April 17 launch scrub. The program is currently working toward the next launch attempt on Friday, April 19 at 5 p.m. EDT, weather permitting.
Continue reading ‘Orbital Resets Antares Launch for Saturday Evening’
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