New Launch Date Selected: Oct. 14

Photo of Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft, courtesy Orbital ATK.
Photo of Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft, courtesy Orbital ATK.

Orbital ATK has rescheduled the launch of the OA-5 CRS mission for Friday, Oct. 14, 2016. The updated schedule now includes roll-out of the Antares rocket to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Liftoff of the Antares rocket on Oct. 14 is planned for 8:51 p.m. (EDT), with the rendezvous of the Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft with the International Space Station expected at approximately 6:05 a.m. (EDT) on Monday, Oct. 17.

The Antares and Cygnus team encountered and resolved a minor vehicle processing issue over the weekend which, together with time spent on contingency planning for Hurricane Matthew, necessitated the one-day slip. This updated schedule is still subject to the completion of all remaining pre-launch testing and operational activities, as well as acceptable weather conditions prior to and during launch operations.

Antares Integration Continues at Wallops

 

rocket and payload in fairing in warehouse
Credit: NASA’s Wallops Space Flight Center

Integration of the Orbital ATK Antares launch vehicle continues in the NASA Horizontal Integration Facility at the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for its flight to the International Space Station.

The Antares OA-5 launch vehicle is seen on the right.  The Cygnus spacecraft is on the left as crews prepare it for mating with the Antares vehicle.  Cygnus will carry approximately 5,100 pounds of cargo, including crew supplies and vehicle hardware, to the orbiting laboratory to support dozens of science and research investigations.

The Antares is schedule to launch at 9:13 p.m. EDT, Thursday, Oct. 13 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s pad 0A at Wallops.  Backup launch days run through Oct. 19 but additional days could be added if needed. The launch is expected to be visible from the entire east coast, weather permitting.

Rollout of the vehicle from the integration facility to the launch pad is scheduled for the afternoon of Oct. 11.

Orbital ATK Cygnus Spacecraft Preps for Launch

Looking into Cygnus, with cargo stowed
Photo credit: Orbital ATK
Empty Cygnus spacecraft with covering
Photo credit: NASA/P. Black

The Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft undergoes preparations in the Horizontal Integration Facility at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility for an Oct. 13 launch on the company’s Antares rocket.

technicians with large brassy ring in foreground
Photo credit: NASA/P. Black

Spacecraft and launch vehicle teams are working to prepare the Cygnus for the final loading of cargo bound for the International Space Station and mating the spacecraft to the Antares launch vehicle. This will be NASA commercial cargo provider Orbital ATK’s sixth mission to the International Space Station.

Launch time will be 9:13 p.m. EDT on Oct. 13. Live launch coverage will begin at 8:15 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

NASA TV also will air two prelaunch broadcasts Wednesday, Oct. 12. At 1 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, and at 3 p.m. mission managers will provide an overview and status of launch operations. The briefings also will be streamed live on the agency’s website.

Cygnus is loaded with supplies for the crew along with dozens of experiments, including studies on fire in space, the effect of lighting on sleep and daily rhythms, collection of health-related data, and a new way to measure neutrons.

Orbital ATK Sets Oct. 13 Antares Launch Date

NASA and Orbital ATK successfully completed a pre-launch Flight Readiness Review (FRR) and established a targeted launch date of Oct. 13, 2016, for the OA-5 cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station. In preparation for the mission, final integration of the company’s Cygnus spacecraft and Antares rocket is now underway, with roll out to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore anticipated to take place on Oct. 11.

Antares rocket at night
File photo of Antares rocket from 2014. Image credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black

For an Oct. 13 launch, liftoff is scheduled at 9:13 p.m. EDT and will be visible along the East Coast depending on atmospheric conditions. This schedule is subject to completion of all remaining pre-launch integration and testing activities and acceptable weather conditions prior to and during launch operations.

New Target Dates Set for Orbital ATK Resupply Launch from Virginia

File Photo of Antares Launch
Antares rocket launches from Wallops Island in 2014. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital ATK is targeting no earlier than Oct. 9-13, 2016, for the launch of its Cygnus spacecraft on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, carrying cargo to the International Space Station. A more specific date will be identified after completion of final operational milestones and technical reviews. Launch times range from 10:47 p.m. EDT Sunday, Oct. 9, to 9:13 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13.

This will be the sixth planned cargo resupply mission by Orbital ATK under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company and the fourth launch from Virginia. Cargo resupply by U.S. companies enables a national capability to deliver critical science research to the space station, significantly increasing NASA’s ability to conduct new science investigations aboard the world’s only microgravity laboratory.

Get more information about Orbital ATK, its Antares rocket and the Cygnus cargo spacecraft at:

https://www.nasa.gov/orbital

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

Antares’ Return to Flight Targeted for September

File photo of Antares rocket from preparations for a launch in April 2013. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls
File photo of Antares rocket from preparations for a launch in April 2013. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orbital ATK completed a stage test at the end of May and final data review has confirmed the test was successful, clearing the way for the Antares return to flight. Simultaneously, the company has been conducting final integration and check out of the flight vehicle that will launch the OA-5 mission to ensure that all technical, quality and safety standards are met or exceeded.

Due to a variety of interrelated factors, including the company’s continuing processing, inspection and testing of the flight vehicle at Wallops Island, and NASA’s scheduling of crew activities on the International Space Station in preparation for upcoming cargo and crew launches, Orbital ATK is currently working with NASA to target a window in the second half of September for the launch of the OA-5 mission. A more specific launch date will be identified in the coming weeks.

To date, Orbital ATK has carried out five cargo logistics mission for NASA under the COTS and CRS programs.

Cygnus Media Day at NASA Wallops

Media got a close-up look at Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft, packed with cargo for the International Space Station Tuesday, June 7, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Reporters talked with International Space Station Deputy Director Robyn Gatens and Dan Tani, mission and cargo operations senior director with Orbital ATK, about the space agency’s efforts to send supplies to the space station using commercial companies.

Dan Tani, senior director of Orbital ATK mission and cargo operations in front of Cygnus Cargo Module
Dan Tani, senior director of Orbital ATK mission and cargo operations, discusses Cygnus capabilities with reporters during a media day June 7, 2016, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black

Orbital ATK will make its fifth Cygnus cargo delivery to the space station this summer under its Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The agency and Orbital ATK currently are targeting July for launch of the company’s Antares rocket from Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at Wallops.

Orbital ATK specialists at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia load the Cygnus cargo module with supplies for the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
Orbital ATK specialists at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia load the Cygnus cargo module with supplies for the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
Orbital ATK technicians load Cygnus
Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black
Cygnus Cargo Module
Orbital ATK technicians mate the Cygnus pressurized cargo module to the program command module during integration operations. Orbital ATK anticipates a July 2016 launch from Wallops to resupply the International Space Station. Credit: NASA Wallops/Patrick Black

During the media event Orbital ATK announced that they will name this Cygnus spacecraft the S.S. Alan Poindexter, to honor the memory of former astronaut and Navy aviator Capt. Alan Poindexter. More information on the next Cygnus mission is available from Orbital ATK at http://go.nasa.gov/1RZdEuy.

Read Complete Launch Coverage

Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 Liftoff

Tonight’s launch of an Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V went smoothly from countdown through liftoff and ascent. Now the spacecraft and its 7,500 pounds of important scientific equipment and supplies for the crew is speeding toward the International Space Station and a rendezvous early Saturday morning. Read what this mission means for the research aboard the station and other factors at http://go.nasa.gov/1pHzRaE. And that wraps up our coverage this evening of the CRS-6 launch. Thanks for following along with us!  Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA, Orbital ATK and ULA Mark Successful Launch

Cygnus Orbital ATK OA-6 on a ULA Atlas V Rocket launches from Pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS).

With Cygnus in its proper orbit and set up to fly on its own to the International Space Station, officials from NASA, Orbital ATK which built and flies Cygnus, and United Launch Alliance, which operates the Atlas V launch vehicle, offered congratulations to the flight teams and work that went into the flawless countdown and liftoff.

“Clearly this team was ready to go do this launch tonight,” said Kenneth Todd, the space station’s Operations Integration manager. “The ISS is ready and the crew is ready.”

The countdown and flight proceeded smoothly, something that did not go unnoticed.

“We all know it takes a lot of hard work to make it look easy and the team did that,” said Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group.

ULA’s Vern Thorp put the 21-minute flight to orbit into perspective: That’s faster than most pizza deliveries,” he said.

Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky