Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 08-11-2017 12:47 PM
Orbital ATK release
OA-8 Space Station Cargo Resupply
Orbital ATK, at NASA's direction, is now targeting Nov. 10, 2017 for launch of the OA-8 mission to the International Space Station, solely based on NASA's revised ISS traffic planning and cargo needs.
Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled to launch aboard an Antares launch vehicle for the sixth time from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Cygnus will deliver vital equipment, supplies and scientific equipment to the space station as part of Orbital ATK's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.
Integration and test of the Antares launch vehicle and Cygnus spacecraft are complete and both were processed to support a mission as early as September of this year. Final preparations for the mission will begin in early October to support the new Nov. 10 target launch date.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The last human to step off the moon is the latest astronaut to be memorialized with the naming of a space station-bound cargo ship.
Gene Cernan, who commanded NASA's final Apollo moon landing mission in 1972, died at the age of 82 in January. Orbital ATK's next Cygnus commercial resupply spacecraft to launch honors Cernan's commitment to exploration and discovery.
"Today we announced that we're naming the OA-8 vehicle after Gene Cernan. It is the 'S.S. Gene Cernan,'" said Rick Mastracchio, Orbital ATK senior director of operations for the Commercial Resupply Services program and a former NASA astronaut, on Wednesday (Oct. 18).
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-09-2017 11:13 AM
NASA photo release (Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
The Orbital ATK Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is raised into the vertical position on launch Pad-0A, Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-12-2017 10:26 AM
Orbital ATK release (Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Orbital ATK Successfully Launches Eighth Cargo Delivery Mission to the International Space Station
Antares Rocket Boosts Approximately 7,400 Pounds, Its Heaviest Load to Date
Cygnus to Host Science Experiments While Docked With Station
Orbital ATK successfully launched its Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft on Sunday (Nov. 12) at 7:19 a.m. EST [1219 GMT], from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch is Orbital ATK's eighth cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station for NASA. During the mission, designated OA-8, Cygnus will deliver vital equipment, supplies and experiments to the astronauts aboard the space station, as well as conduct scientific experiments onboard Cygnus while docked with the orbiting laboratory.
The Antares rocket launched the Cygnus spacecraft loaded with approximately 7,400 pounds (3,350 kilograms) of cargo to the crew of six who are aboard the space station. Following an approximate nine-minute ascent, the "S.S. Gene Cernan" Cygnus spacecraft, named in honor of the late astronaut and the last man to leave the moon, was successfully deployed into orbit. Orbital ATK's engineering team confirmed reliable communications have been established and the vehicle's solar arrays are fully deployed, providing the necessary electrical power to operate the spacecraft.
"While the Antares team celebrates a successful launch today, we're already well into building the vehicles for the next two missions," said Scott Lehr, President of Orbital ATK's Flight Systems Group. "We will be ready to launch again whenever Cygnus needs us."
Cygnus will be grappled at approximately 4:50 a.m. EST on November 14. The spacecraft will remain attached to the space station for approximately three weeks before departing with more than 4,000 pounds (approximately 2,000 kilograms) of disposable cargo. Cygnus' large-volume disposal capability, a critical service to NASA, is unique among America's commercial cargo providers.
"Today's successful launch of the OA-8 Cygnus on our Antares launch vehicle once again demonstrates the reliability of Orbital ATK's hardware along with our commitment to deliver critical cargo to astronauts on the International Space Station," said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. "Soon, Cygnus will rendezvous with the space station to deliver valuable scientific experiments, hardware and crew supplies to the orbiting platform."
"On this mission, Cygnus will again display its flexibility as an in-orbit science platform by supporting experiments to be performed inside the cargo module while attached to the space station. We are proud to dedicate this mission to Apollo astronaut Gene Cernan and his family and look forward to celebrating the OA-8 contributions to science in his name," said Culbertson.
Upon arrival at the space station, the "S.S. Gene Cernan" Cygnus will be unloaded and used for the first time as an extension of the orbiting laboratory for an experiment featuring a SpaceTango facility. TangoLab is a reconfigurable general research facility designed for microgravity research and development. This exercise will highlight the ability to expand the station's capabilities for hosting experiments using the Cygnus module.
During the three weeks Cygnus remains docked, the astronauts on the space station will perform the transfer of the lab to Cygnus and then back to the station where it will remain. Once Cygnus is unberthed, a NanoRacks deployer will release 14 Cubesats, a record number for the spacecraft. Upon completion of its secondary missions, Cygnus will perform a safe, destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 11-14-2017 06:17 AM
SS Gene Cernan arrives at space station
The S.S. Gene Cernan, Orbital ATK's eighth Cygnus cargo spacecraft to deliver supplies and science for the crew on board the International Space Station, completed a two-day flight to the outpost on Tuesday morning (Nov. 14).
Expedition 53 flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (the European Space Agency), working with commander Randy Bresnik of NASA, captured the S.S. Gene Cernan using the space station's Canadarm2 robotic arm at 4:04 a.m. CST (1004 GMT).
With the Cygnus in grasp, flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston guided the spacecraft to a berthing on the Earth-facing port of the station's Unity module, where it will remain attached for the next three weeks.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42988 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 12-08-2017 07:27 AM
Orbital ATK update
Cygnus departed from the International Space Station on Dec. 6 at 8:11 a.m. EST [1311 GMT] following a highly successful stay at the orbiting laboratory.
The spacecraft is packed with approximately 6,400 pounds [2,900 kilograms] of disposable cargo, the largest amount of material ever removed by Cygnus during its cargo resupply missions. After its departure, the S.S. Gene Cernan successfully released 14 cubesats from a NanoRacks cubesat deployer on board.
The OA-8 mission is expected to end on Dec. 18 when Cygnus will execute a safe, destructive reentry into Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.