posted 09-13-2013 12:26 AM               

Orb-D1 COTS Demonstration Mission

An Antares rocket carrying Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set to launch from Pad-0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Virginia on Sept. 17, 2013.

The goal of the mission is to demonstrate the complete Orbital commercial delivery system from the launch of the Cygnus advanced cargo logistics spacecraft aboard Antares and the rendezvous of Cygnus with the International Space Station (ISS), through unloading of cargo from Cygnus and loading of disposal cargo, to Cygnus departure from the ISS and reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

The Orb-D1 mission is the final development milestone under the NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation System agreement. With the successful completion of the COTS mission, Orbital is slated to deliver up to 20,000 kilograms of supplies over eight missions to the ISS under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA through 2016.