As Orb-2 Nears Launch, Orb-3 Prep Already Under Way

Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft with cargo for the International Space Station is scheduled to launch aboard an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Launch Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Sunday, July 13 at 12:52 p.m. EDT.

The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, is seen during sunrise, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, is seen during sunrise, Saturday, July 12, 2014. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

This launch, the Orb-2 mission, is the second of eight under Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. While Orb-2’s liftoff nears, Orb-3 preparations are already well under way. Tentatively scheduled for an October 2014 launch, Orb-3 will be another Cygnus flight aboard an Antares rocket.

The first and second stages of Orb-3’s Antares are inside Wallops’ Horizontal Integration Facility (“HIF” for short).

The Horizontal Integration Facility at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Credit: NASA
The Horizontal Integration Facility, or HIF, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA

The facility is 250 feet long, 150 wide and 60 feet high. Its bay provides dual horizontal processing with 70-and 50-ton bridge cranes. The HIF was built in about 16 months, with ribbon-cutting in March 2011. Orbital Sciences Corp. is the first customer to use the facility, which features adjacent laboratory and warehouse space.

This view inside the HIF shows Orb-2's Antares rocket (right) prior to roll out to the launch pad on July 10, 2014. The first (white) and second (black) stages of Orb-3's Antares are at the left side of the image. Credit: NASA Wallops
This view inside the HIF shows Orb-2’s Antares rocket (right) prior to roll out to the launch pad on July 10, 2014. The first (white) and second (black) stages of Orb-3’s Antares are at the left side of the image. Credit: NASA Wallops

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