Author: Rob Garner

CRS-9 Launch: Additional Views


Video Credit: Optical Systems Group, NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off aboard the company’s Antares rocket at 4:44:06 a.m. EDT May 21, 2018, from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The International Space Station-bound Cygnus was loaded with about 7,400 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations occurring during the space station’s Expeditions 55 and 56.

The three video sequences above show the CRS-9 launch from remotely operated cameras at the pad (sequence Nos. 1 and 2) and a camera operated at a viewing site a few miles away (sequence No. 3).

(Photo courtesy Jared Haworth/We Report Space)
it’s a 5 minute, 56 second exposure shot on a full frame Canon camera with a 17-40mm lens. The camera was set at ISO100, f/16 and bulb mode, requiring the use of a sturdy tripod and a remote shutter release cable to prevent any shaking or blur of the image. In order to prevent the launchpad from being too overexposed, the picture was actually started a few seconds after ignition, as the rocket began to clear the transporter-erector-launcher. Past experience at Wallops told me that the rocket would appear to travel “right to left” at launch, and that the second stage should be visible about four minutes into flight. The early morning launch meant the second stage would be illuminated by the sun even while our viewing location was still in the pre-dawn darkness.

CRS-9 Post-Launch Press Conference Complete; Launch Blog Coverage Concludes

Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off aboard the company’s Antares rocket at 4:44:06 a.m. EDT May 21 from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The International Space Station-bound Cygnus is loaded with about 7,400 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 55 and 56.

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, May 21, 2018, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

The cargo ship will rendezvous with the International Space Station on Thursday, May 24. Expedition 55 Flight Engineer Scott Tingle will grapple the spacecraft at approximately 5:20 a.m. EDT, backed by Ricky Arnold, and Drew Feustel will monitor Cygnus systems during its approach. They will use the space station’s robotic Canadarm2 to take hold of the Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. James “J.R.” Thompson. After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the robotic arm to rotate and install Cygnus onto the station’s Unity module. It is scheduled depart the space station in mid-July.

Live coverage of the rendezvous and capture will air on NASA Television and the agency’s website beginning at 3:45 a.m. Thursday, May 24. Installation coverage is set to begin at 7:30 a.m.

Science investigations aboard Cygnus on their way to the space station also include commercial and academic payloads in myriad disciplines, including:

  • The Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology (BEST), an investigation to identify unknown microbial organisms on the space station and understand how humans, plants and microbes adapt to living on the station
  • The Cold Atom Laboratory, a physics research facility used by scientists to explore how atoms interact when they have almost no motion due to extreme cold temperatures
  • A unique liquid separation system from Zaiput Flow Technologies that relies on surface forces, rather than gravity, to extract one liquid from another
  • The Ice Cubes Facility, the first commercial European opportunity to conduct research in space, made possible through an agreement with ESA (European Space Agency) and Space Applications Services.
  • The Microgravity Investigation of Cement Solidification (MICS) experiment is to investigate and understand the complex process of cement solidification in microgravity with the intent of improving Earth-based cement and concrete processing and as the first steps toward making and using concrete on extraterrestrial bodies.
  • Three Earth science CubeSats
    • RainCube (Radar in a CubeSat) will be NASA’s first active sensing instrument on a CubeSat that could enable future rainfall profiling missions on low-cost, quick-turnaround platforms.
    • TEMPEST-D (Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Demonstration) is mission to validate technology that could improve our understanding of cloud processes.
    • CubeRRT (CubeSat Radiometer Radio Frequency Interference Technology) will seek to demonstrate a new technology that can identify and filter radio frequency interference, which is a growing problem that negatively affects the data quality collected by radiometers, instruments used in space for critical weather data and climate studies.

CRS-9 mission photos from NASA on Flickr

NASA press release: “NASA Sends New Research on Orbital ATK Mission to Space Station”

More information on Orbital ATK’s partnership with NASA

More information on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

Cygnus Solar Arrays Deployed Successfully

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus has deployed its solar arrays.

This file photo, taken from the International Space Station, shows an Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply ship with its cymbal-like UltraFlex solar arrays approaching the ISS in November 2017. Credit: NASA
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, May 21, 2018, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Allison Stancil

The Cygnus lifted off aboard Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket at 4:44:06 a.m. EDT  from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The International Space Station-bound Cygnus is loaded with about 7,400 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 55 and 56.

Live NASA TV coverage will resume for a post-launch briefing at 7 a.m. EDT.

The CRS-9 Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the space station Thursday, May 24.

NASA TV Coverage Resumes for CRS-9 Solar Array Deployment

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, May 21, 2018, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

NASA TV live commentary has resumed for coverage of solar array deployment on Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft. The deployment begins at roughly 6 a.m. EDT and lasts about 30 minutes.

The Cygnus lifted off aboard Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket at 4:44 a.m. EDT  from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The International Space Station-bound Cygnus is loaded with about 7,400 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 55 and 56.

The CRS-9 Cygnus is scheduled to arrive at the space station Thursday, May 24.

First Look: Antares Launch Photos

Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket carrying the Cygnus cargo spacecraft lifted off at 4:44 a.m. EDT and is on its way to the International Space Station. At the time of launch, the space station was traveling at an altitude of about 250 miles, over the central south Atlantic.

An hour and half after launch, commands will be given to deploy the spacecraft’s UltraFlex solar arrays. Launch coverage will resume on NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/live at about 5:45 a.m. for solar array deployment, which is expected to last about 30 minutes.

A post-launch news conference will follow and is scheduled to begin on NASA TV at approximately 7:00 a.m.

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, May 21, 2018, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s ninth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station will deliver about 7,400 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)
Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Allison Stancil

More CRS-9 Photos From NASA on Flickr

CRS-9: Liftoff!

Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket with Cygnus spacecraft has lifted off from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. This mission, CRS-9, is Orbital ATK’s ninth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station.

Credit NASA TV

Upcoming Flight Milestones (Approx. Times)

  • EDT                        Event
  • 4:47 am           Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) on Antares first stage
  • 4:47 am           Stage 1 Separation
  • 4:47 am           Fairing Separation
  • 4:48 am           Interstage Separtion
  • 4:48 am           Second stage ignition
  • 4:51 am           Stage 2 Burnout/orbit insertion
  • 4:52 am           Cygnus separation from second stage
  • 5:45 am           NASA TV Commentary resumes for Solar Array Deploy
  • 6:00 am         Solar Array Deployment Begins
  • 6:30 am         Solar Array Deployment Ends
  • 7:00 am         Post-launch news conference

Liftoff Time Adjusted: 4:44 a.m. EDT

Orbital ATK is targeting the end of this morning’s 5-minute launch window, to allow additional time for weather clear-out. Launch of the company’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set for 4:44 a.m. EDT from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Credit: NASA TV

CRS-9 Launch Commentary Under Way

Live launch commentary has begun on NASA TV for this morning’s launch of Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Credit: NASA TV

All stations at mission control, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston, are “go” for launch.

Antares, carrying Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft, is on schedule for a 5-minute launch window opening May 21 at 4:39 a.m. EDT on the company’s CRS-9 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The countdown uses both a range countdown clock (L Minus Clock) and a software sequencer (T Minus Clock). The launch countdown is initiated with the Range Clock at L minus 6 hours 15 minutes and is a running clock. The T Minus Clock is initiated at T minus 3 hours 10 minutes (sequencer start-up) and stops with built-in holds.

  • EDT                        Event
  • 3:05 am           Start propellant loading at T-1 hour, 30 minutes (L-1 hour, 35 minutes)
  • 4:19 am           Enter into final 10-minute hold at T-8 minutes (L-20 minutes)
  • 4:27 am           Poll for readiness to proceed with the final countdown (L-12 minutes)
  • 4:29 am           Start final countdown at T-10 minutes
  • 4:36 am           Initiate Auto Sequence Handoff for the Terminal Count (T-3:30)
  • 4:39 am           LAUNCH
  • 4:42 am           Main Engine Cutoff (MECO) on Antares first stage
  • 4:42 am           Stage 1 Separation
  • 4:42 am           Fairing Separation
  • 4:43 am           Interstage Separtion
  • 4:43 am           Second stage ignition
  • 4:46 am           Stage 2 Burnout/orbit insertion
  • 4:48 am           Cygnus separation from second stage
  • 5:45 am           NASA TV Commentary resumes for Solar Array Deploy
  • ~6:00 am         Solar Array Deployment Begins
  • ~6:30 am         Solar Array Deployment Ends
  • ~7:00 am         Post-launch news conference

Today’s launch is the ninth contracted Orbital ATK commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Cygnus will carry about 7,400 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 55 and 56.

When Cygnus arrives to the space station, on Thursday, May 24, Expedition 55 Flight Engineer Scott Tingle will grapple the spacecraft, backed by Ricky Arnold, and Drew Feustel will monitor Cygnus systems during its approach. They will use the space station’s robotic Canadarm2 to take hold of the Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. James “J.R.” Thompson. After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the robotic arm to rotate and install Cygnus onto the station’s Unity module.

How to View May 21 Antares CRS-9 Launch, In Person or Online

CRS-9 Count Proceeding; Weather at 75-Percent Favorable

Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility

Orbital ATK’s Antares rocket with Cygnus spacecraft is on schedule for a 5-minute launch window opening May 21 at 4:39 a.m. EDT on the company’s CRS-9 cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. Launch will be from Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

The latest forecast has upgraded the probability of favorable launch-time weather to 75 percent.

How to View May 21 Antares CRS-9 Launch, In Person or Online