Cygnus Module in Place Atop Atlas V; Dress Rehearsal Today

Prior to its move to Space Launch Complex 41, the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module was encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. The Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo module bound for the International Space Station has been secured atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 41. After an early morning journey from Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the payload fairing containing the Cygnus spacecraft arrived at the launch complex’s Vertical Integration Facility and hoisted into place atop the waiting rocket on Friday morning, March 17.

Launch and mission team members are participating today in a launch dress rehearsal. For more information on the Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orbital.

Pictured: Prior to its move to Space Launch Complex 41, the Orbital ATK Cygnus pressurized cargo module was encapsulated in the United Launch Alliance Atlas V payload fairing inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance

Orbital ATK CRS-7 Launch Targeted for March 24

NASA, Orbital ATK and United Launch Alliance (ULA) now are targeting launch of Orbital ATK’s seventh commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station at 9 p.m. EDT Friday, March 24. An option exists to move the launch earlier to March 23, if the Eastern Range becomes available. The additional time allows the ULA team to replace and retest a first stage hydraulic component. Orbital ATK has contracted with ULA for its Atlas V rocket for the launch service, which will lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft is packed with 7,600 pounds of supplies and research for crew aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Launch for Orbital ATK CRS-7 NET March 21

NASA, Orbital ATK and United Launch Alliance (ULA) are now targeting launch of Orbital ATK’s seventh commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station no earlier than Tuesday, March 21. During prelaunch testing March 10, ULA discovered a booster hydraulic issue at the pad, and the additional time will allow their team to replace a component and continue with launch preparations. Orbital ATK has contracted with ULA for an Atlas V rocket for the mission, which will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Cygnus spacecraft is packed with 7,600 pounds of supplies and research for crew aboard the orbiting laboratory. Both the cargo spacecraft and Atlas V rocket remain secure in their processing facilities.

Orbital ATK Dedicates Cygnus Spacecraft to John Glenn

A supply spacecraft set to carry thousands of pounds of experiments and equipment to the International Space Station will also carry the name John Glenn, Orbital ATK said Thursday during a ceremony dedicating the mission to the first American to orbit the Earth.

“John Glenn was probably responsible for more students studying math and science and being interested in space than anyone,” said former astronaut Brian Duffy, Orbital ATK’s vice president of Exploration Systems. “When he flew into space in 1962, there was not a child then who didn’t know his name. He’s the one that opened up space for all of us.”

Glenn, who passed away in December at age 95, was one of NASA’s original seven astronauts. After making his landmark orbital mission in February 1962, he served as a U.S. senator from Ohio. After retiring from politics, Glenn made his second spaceflight in 1998 as part of the STS-95 crew flying space shuttle Discovery.

The spacecraft will carry 7,600 pounds of cargo to the station and will be lifted into space atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Read the full story at http://go.nasa.gov/2moxJnq
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Next Cygnus Mission to Station Set for March

Orbital ATK's Cygnus cargo craft
Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft was captured Oct. 23, 2016, using the Canadarm2 robotic arm on the International Space Station.

Orbital ATK has completed a significant mission milestone for NASA’s next International Space Station cargo mission.

The Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) of the Cygnus spacecraft has arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for processing and assembly before launch. The Orbital ATK CRS-7 mission is targeted to launch on Thursday, March 16 from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Orbital ATK will launch Cygnus atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket for delivery of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The 30 minute launch window opens at 12:29am EDT.

Orbital ATK CRS-7 will mark Orbital ATK’s seventh cargo delivery mission for NASA under its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) -1 contract.

Cygnus Spacecraft Departs ISS

Expedition 50 robotic arm operators Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency) commanded the International Space Station’s Candadarm2 robotic arm to release the Cygnus spacecraft at 8:22 a.m. EST while the space station was flying 251 miles over the Pacific Ocean, off the west cost of Columbia. Earlier, ground controllers detached Cygnus from the station and maneuvered it into place for its departure.

Once Cygnus is a safe distance away from the station, ground controllers at Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and at Orbital ATK in Dulles, Virginia, will activate the Saffire-II experiment.
Cygnus also will release four LEMUR CubeSats from an external deployer on Friday, Nov. 25, sending them to join a remote sensing satellite constellation that provides global ship tracking and weather monitoring.

The spacecraft will remain in orbit until Sunday, Nov. 27, when its engines will fire twice, pushing it into Earth’s atmosphere, where it will burn up over the Pacific Ocean.

The Cygnus resupply craft launched Oct. 17 on an Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, for the company’s sixth NASA-contracted commercial resupply mission. The company’s seventh contracted resupply mission is targeted for spring 2017 on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

OA-5 Press Conference; Launch Blog Coverage Concludes

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft on board, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA Wallops/Patrick Black)
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft on board, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA Wallops/Patrick Black)

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft lifted off at 7:45 p.m. EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A on the company’s upgraded Antares 230 rocket carrying more than 5,100 pounds of cargo.

The cargo ship will rendezvous with the International Space Station on Sunday, Oct. 23. It will be grappled at approximately 7:05 a.m. by Expedition 49 Flight Engineers Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kate Rubins of NASA. After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module. It is scheduled depart the space station on Nov. 18.

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

  • Saffire II, the second in a series of experiments to ignite and study a large-scale fire inside an empty Cygnus resupply vehicle after it leaves the space station and before it re-enters Earth’s atmosphere to improving understanding of fire growth in microgravity and safeguarding future space missions.
  • Cool flames, an investigation into a phenomenon where some types of fuels initially burn very hot and then appear to go out — but actually continue to burn at a much lower temperature with no visible flames.
  • Controlled Dynamics locker- equipment that can minimize fluctuations and disturbances in the microgravity environment that can occur onboard a moving spacecraft that can enable a new class of research experiments.
  • NanoRacks Black Box- a platform that can provide advanced science capabilities and is specially designed for near-launch payload turnover of autonomous payloads including use of robotics, new automated MixStix and NanoLab-style research.

NASA post-launch press release

Cygnus Solar Arrays Deployed

Both Cygnus solar arrays have deployed successfully and rotated into correct alignment. Once Cygnus moves into sunlight (the spacecraft is currently in Earth’s shadow), the arrays are expected to provide necessary power.

The deployment of Cygnus cargo spacecraft solar arrays generally occurs about 90 minutes after launch and takes about 10 minutes to complete.

Computer model of Cygnus spacecraft with solar arrays deployed. Credit: NASA TV
Computer model of Cygnus spacecraft with solar arrays deployed. Credit: NASA TV

A live post-launch press conference from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility near Chincoteague, Virginia, is scheduled to air on NASA TV at 10:15 p.m. EDT.

Cygnus is loaded with about 5,100 pounds of science investigations, food, supplies and hardware for the space station and its crew.

When Cygnus arrives to the space station, on Sunday, Oct. 23, Expedition 49 Flight Engineers Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kate Rubins of NASA will grapple the spacecraft. They will use the space station’s robotic arm to take hold of the Cygnus, dubbed the S.S. Alan Poindexter. After Cygnus’ capture, ground controllers will command the station’s arm to rotate and install it on the bottom of the station’s Unity module.

The Cygnus spacecraft will spend about 5 weeks attached to the space station. Cygnus will remain at the space station until November, when the spacecraft will depart the station and initiate the second spacecraft fire safety investigation, Saffire-II, and then dispose of approximately several tons of trash during its fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Antares OA-5 Launch Imagery

On Oct. 17, 2016, Orbital ATK launched its Cygnus cargo spacecraft atop an Antares rocket to the International Space Station. The spacecraft launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This is the sixth cargo mission to the International Space Station for Orbital ATK.

The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft on board, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA Wallops/Patrick Black)
View of launch from helicopter. Photo Credit: (NASA Wallops/Patrick Black)
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, launches from Pad-0A, Monday, Oct. 17, 2016 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted cargo resupply mission with NASA to the International Space Station is delivering over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)