posted 11-03-2016 08:02 PM               

Please use this topic to discuss Orbital ATK's OA-7 mission to resupply the International Space Station.

posted 11-03-2016 08:06 PM               

The shift, which surprised many aerospace experts and caught even senior Orbital officials flat footed, according to people familiar with the matter, underscores NASA’s desire to have greater assurance that the orbiting laboratory will have adequate supplies and material for experiments in the short term. A NASA announcement could come as quickly as the next few days, these people said.

...with [SpaceX's] Falcon 9 temporarily grounded, a replacement Atlas V, slated to blast off from Florida in February or March, could carry nearly 1,000 pounds more into orbit than an Antares.

posted 11-04-2016 08:18 AM               

During Orbital's discussions with NASA, according to industry officials familiar with the matter, the company acknowledged it would have faced a hard time complying with NASA's upcoming launch deadlines. Orbital still plans to make two launches from the Wallops Island facility in 2017.

posted 02-03-2017 10:41 AM               

The Cygnus spacecraft is targeted to launch March 19, during a 30-minute window that opens at approximately 10:56 p.m. EDT.

Cygnus will launch on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. The spacecraft will carry crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory to support the Expedition 50 and 51 crews.

Investigations scheduled on this launch include an Advanced Plant Habitat, which will integrate new technology to increase overall efficiency, reliability, and robustness of plants grown on station. This experiment will build on the success of NASA’s Veggie, the first fresh food growth system on station, and will provide ongoing research for the development of food production systems for long-duration exploration missions.

Manipulating cell cultures in space is challenging as the cells can spontaneously grow in 3-D. Another new investigation bound for the U.S. National Laboratory will look at using magnetized cells and tools to make it easier to handle cells and cultures, and improve the reproducibility of experiments.

The Slosh Coating experiment will investigate a special type of coating that can repel liquids when applied to container walls. If effective, the liquid repellent could be used to design more efficient storage tanks for propellant and other fluids used in space exploration.

There also will be a number of CubeSats onboard Cygnus that will be deployed from the NanoRacks CubeSat Deployment on the space station, including a NASA science payload known as IceCube, which will provide data to scientists’ understanding of ice clouds and their role in climate change.

posted 04-14-2017 01:19 PM               

Watch World's First Live 360 Degree Video of Rocket Launch April 18

NASA, in coordination with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Orbital ATK, will broadcast the world's first live 360-degree stream of a rocket launch. The live 360 stream of the cargo resupply mission liftoff to the International Space Station may be viewed on the NASA Television YouTube channel starting 10 minutes prior to lift off.

Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft will launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket carrying more than 7,600 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory. Launch is targeted for Tuesday, April 18 during a 30-minute window that opens at 11:11 a.m. EDT.

To view in 360, use a mouse or move a personal device to look up and down, back and forth, for a 360-degree view around Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Note: not all browsers support viewing 360 videos. YouTube supports playback of 360-degree videos on computers using Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera browsers. Viewers may use the YouTube app to view the launch on a smart phone. Those who own virtual reality headsets will be able to look around and experience the view as if they were actually standing on the launch pad.

While virtual reality and 360 technology have been increasing in popularity, live 360 technology is a brand new capability that has recently emerged. Recognizing the exciting possibilities opened by applying this new technology to spaceflight, NASA, ULA, and Orbital ATK seized this opportunity to virtually place the public at the base of the rocket during launch. Minimum viewing distance is typically miles away from the launch pad, but the live 360 stream enables viewers to get a pads-eye view.

posted 04-18-2017 10:00 AM               

Here's a look at some stats about today's mission. This will be:

The 653rd launch for Atlas program since 1957
The 357th Atlas launch from Cape Canaveral
The 242nd mission of a Centaur upper stage
The 219th use of Centaur by an Atlas rocket
The 480th production RL10 engine to be launched
The 19th RL10C-1 engine launched
The 77th flight of an RD-180 main engine
The 71st launch of an Atlas 5 since 2002
The 17th commercial mission for Atlas 5
The 58th launch of an Atlas 5 from Cape Canaveral
The 3rd Atlas 5 launch of 2017
The 106th Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle flight
The 119th United Launch Alliance flight overall
The 63rd Atlas 5 under United Launch Alliance
The 86th United Launch Alliance flight from Cape Canaveral
The 21st commercial launch by United Launch Alliance
The 49th 400-series flight of the Atlas 5
The 36th Atlas 5 to fly in the 401 configuration
The 85th launch from Complex 41
The 58th Atlas 5 to use Complex 41
The 8th Cygnus spacecraft to launch
The 7th Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services mission
The 17th Combined launch under CRS program for NASA
The 3rd Cygnus on an Atlas rocket
The 3rd Atlas rocket for International Space Station
The 4th Enhanced Cygnus

posted 04-18-2017 10:04 AM               

NASA, in coordination with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and Orbital ATK, will broadcast the world’s first live 360-degree stream of a rocket launch. This stream will begin at approximately 11:00a.m. EDT on April 18th, and will last until the rocket is out of sight. This stream enables you to look around in 360 degrees — as if you were actually standing on the launch pad.

The Orbital ATK CRS-7 resupply mission to the International Space Staion is scheduled to launch during a 30 minute window opening at 11:11a.m. EDT. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft will launch on a ULA Atlas V rocket carrying more than 7,600 pounds of science research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

posted 04-18-2017 10:53 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
...George Diller's final time calling a launch

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3, 2, go for main engine start, 1, zero and lift off of the Atlas V rocket with Cygnus and the S.S. John Glenn, extending the research legacy for living and working in space.

posted 06-04-2017 11:19 AM               

Godspeed and fair winds S.S. John Glenn. Huge thanks to Orbital ATK and NASA Johnson teams for critical space station science and supplies.