Cygnus OA-8 (CRS-8 ) - Antares-230 - MARS LP-0A - 12.11.1017 12:19 UTC

Автор tnt22, 20.03.2017 18:36:59

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Цитировать Orbital ATK‏Подлинная учетная запись @OrbitalATK 31 мин.31 минуту назад

As we prep for this week's OA-7 mission, our #Antares team is making progress for next #Cygnus mission @NASA_Wallops http://bit.ly/AntaresOA8 

http://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/insideOA/Antares_OA-8/default.aspx
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Orbital ATK Antares Stands Ready to Support Eighth CRS Mission for NASA
 
As we prepare to launch the Cygnus OA-7 mission fr om NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Orbital ATK's Antares team at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is making great progress on the company's eighth Cargo Resupply Mission (known as OA-8 ) to the International Space Station. The team plans to have Antares fully integrated and ready for the Cygnus payload by May.
 
 
Antares vehicle in the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) on Wallops Island. Photo by NASA/Patrick Black
 
OA-8 Fun Fact
 The OA-8 mission will carry 3350kg of cargo to the space station onboard a Cygnus spacecraft. This will be the largest amount of cargo to be carried on an Antares mission to date and is the equivalent of sending more than three classrooms or 105 fifth graders to space!
"We are working a steady cadence at our home port in Wallops," said Kurt Eberly, Antares Deputy Program Manager for Orbital ATK. "Our plan is to be ready in advance of when NASA needs us to fly."

This week the team installed the aft bay over the fully integrated RD-181 engines on the first stage core. This milestone marks the completion of successful installation of all feed lines and completion of leak checks between the first stage core propellant tanks and the engines. The team has also completed all of the electrical system checks of the first stage.

In parallel, the large second stage Castor 30XL motor supplied by our Propulsion Systems Division in Utah has been going through mechanical integration including motor cone and avionics structure installations.

The Antares avionics structure is built and tested by the Orbital ATK team in Chandler, Arizona, then shipped to Wallops for integration. The avionics structure is fully populated with the components that control Antares during flight including the navigator, flight computer and telemetry systems.
 
 
Antares Team is installing the Aft Bay on the OA-8 vehicle. Photo by NASA/Patrick Black

"This program combines the best capabilities of our merged company with our propulsion and launch vehicles teams," said Eberly. "For this mission we are really seeing the smooth operations that come fr om having a combined team of expertise that makes Orbital ATK."

In May, the team will mate the first and second stage, complete flight simulation testing and then lift and transer the fully-assembled vehicle onto the Transporter/Erector/Launcher (TEL) wh ere it will be ready for the Cygnus mate. The Antares team will be ready to launch OA-8 as early as this summer, and OA-9 as early as the end of this year. The specific launch dates for these missions will be sel ected jointly with NASA as we get closer to these time frames. Once OA-8 is complete, the Antares team will begin integrating the OA-9 vehicle.
 
 
Antares OA-8 Vehicles on the left is preparing for launch this fall. The OA-9 first stage sits to the right. Photo by NASA/Patrick Black
"The goal of the program is to achieve an efficient, steady integration flow for the next set of Antares launches. Our Lanch Vehicles Division program personnel at Chandler and Dulles along with our Propulsion Systems Division motor team in Utah are critical to making sure that the fully integrated hardware assemblies and released software are delivered on time and in the right configuration to our field site to enable our operations team to execute the planned schedule activities each and every day," said Eberly. "So a big thank you to everyone that supports the Antares program!"

Along with the vehicle integrations, Virginia Space has fully completed the pad readiness after the OA-5 flight last fall.

"Virginia Space is ready to support the upcoming missions, OA-8 and OA-9 from MARS," said Dale Nash, Virginia Space Executive Director. "We look forward to getting Antares on the pad and ready to take cargo to the crews aboard the space station."
 
 
MARS Pad 0A is ready to support missions fr om Antares home port in Wallops Island, Virginia. Photo courtesy of Virginia Space

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tnt22

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/06/oa-7-cygnus-eom-oa-8-sept-launch/
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Looking ahead to OA-8:

Conclusion of the OA-7 mission will firmly shift attention for Orbital ATK to the next Cygnus flight – the OA-8E mission, which is scheduled to launch later this summer aboard the company's Antares rocket.



The OA-8E mission represents the first of four flights of Orbital ATK under its extended contract with NASA for Cygnus operations.
Спойлер
The extension to the CRS-1 (Commercial Resupply Services 1) contract award was made by NASA to both SpaceX and Orbital ATK based on delays the CRS-2 contract awards and the commencement of those flights in 2019.

Specifically for OA-8E, preparations are well underway at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) in Virginia.

According to Frank DeMauro, Vice President and General Manager of the Advanced Programs Division for Orbital ATK Space Systems Group, "Preparations for OA-8 are going very well.  For Cygnus, the PCM is already at Wallops and the Service Module has completed all testing and is ready to be shipped to Wallops approximately 45 days prior to launch.



"The Antares team is also making great progress towards launch.  The hardware is in excellent shape and the team is ready to go."

Specifically for Antares, the Castor 30XL second stage has been going through mechanical integration including motor cone and avionics structure installations – with everything on track for launch later this year.

While all launches to the Space Station are based on a variety of factors, including crew time, visiting vehicle schedules, and supply needs, Orbital ATK states that they will be ready to support a launch "later this summer."

According to Mr. DeMauro, "The final launch date will be determined jointly by NASA and Orbital ATK based on hardware readiness and NASA traffic and cargo requirements."



At the post-launch news conference for the OA-7 mission back in April, it was stated that OA-8E was targeting a launch in the September time frame.

This would place the mission, under the currently understood visiting vehicle schedule for the ISS, between SpaceX's CRS-12 mission, which is slated to launch No Earlier Than 1 August 2017, and the CRS-13 mission, which is currently targeting a launch sometime in November.

OA-8E will be the second and final flight of Cygnus in 2017, with the OA-9E mission now slated to occur in 2018.

OA-8E will carry ~3,350kg of cargo up to the ISS, marking the heaviest payload yet for the Antares rocket.

(Images: Orbital ATK, NASA)
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tnt22

Цитировать Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 7 мин.назад

The reassuring tones of Frank Culbertson. Four more CRS1 Cygnus launches on the contract. Six more with CRS2 contract, starts 2019.

tnt22

#5
Цитировать Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 6 мин. назад

Two Antares in the HIF. Next Cygnus is going to arrive soon. September is the target for the next launch, but *could* go in August.


 
Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 4 мин. назад

Eberly: planning next Antares/Cygnus launch, OA-8, scheduled for September, but could launch as soon as August depending on NASA needs.

tnt22

:D  
Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 47 сек. назад

(Hopefully their launch preparations are better than this webcast. Audio quality all over the place.)
Звук на брифинге фонит ужасно, но не постоянно, подтверждаю...

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 36 сек. назад

In a rare bit of clear audio, Culberson says the targeted launch date for OA-8 is Sept. 12, but subject to change by NASA.

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 1 мин. назад

Eberly: we are actively pursuing other missions for Antares outside the CRS contract, but can't discuss details.

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 1 мин. назад

Culbertson: could launch OA-9 as soon as November, if NASA wants to go again that soon. OA-8 could be ready as early as late July if needed.

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 1 мин. назад

Culbertson: planning to carry 3,350 kg of cargo on both OA-8 and OA-9.

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tnt22

Миссия OA-8 - запись брифинга NASA и OrbitalATK "Antares CRS-8 update" (35:31)

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/104719996

tnt22

ЦитироватьCygnus vessels : carrying supplies to the International Space Station!

Thales

Опубликовано: 20 июн. 2017 г.

Cygnus are resupply vessels dedicated to carry cargo to the International Space Station.
The vessels are developed by Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA) as part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) developmental program. Each spacecraft carries a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) developed by Thales Alenia Space for Orbital, used to transport crew supplies, spare parts and scientific experiments to the International Space Station.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ka39Vnc5w4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ka39Vnc5w4 (2:39)

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 20 мин. назад

Schedule of upcoming ISS launches/landings from Sam Scimemi's talk at the NAC HEO committee meeting. One change: SpX-12 now Aug. 14, not 12.

tnt22

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/08/03/orbital-atk-kicks-off-follow-on-station-cargo-contract-targets-next-antares-launch-in-october/
ЦитироватьOrbital ATK kicks off follow-on station cargo contract, targets next Antares launch in October
August 3, 2017 Stephen Clark

As Orbital ATK engineers aim for the next launch of the company's Antares rocket fr om Virginia this fall, early planning for missions to keep the International Space Station supplied through the early 2020s is already underway.
Спойлер

A view inside Orbital ATK's horizontal integration facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, in June. This image shows components of the Antares rocket slated to launch this fall. Credit: Alex Polimeni/Spaceflight Now

The Cygnus supply ship is booked for at least 10 more hardware delivery missions to the space station, joining SpaceX's Dragon freighter and Sierra Nevada's Dream Chaser space plane in the U.S. fleet of unpiloted commercial cargo transporters under contract to NASA.

Orbital ATK plans to send heavier loads, and perhaps large unpressurized elements, to the space station in the future. SpaceX's Dragon and Japan's HTV supply ship currently haul up payload packages and spare parts for mounting outside the complex.

NASA has penciled in Oct. 11 for Orbital ATK's next station cargo launch aboard an Antares rocket from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, a launch complex located NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Frank DeMauro, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK's advanced programs division, said the company's rocket and spacecraft teams would be ready to launch as soon as NASA confirms the space station is ready to receive the robotic cargo craft.

"With Cygnus, the hardware is ready to go to the next phase, which is launch site integration," DeMauro said in a recent interview with Spaceflight Now. "Antares is also in great shape. They've completed all their integration and testing, and they've gotten it all the way to the point wh ere they're ready for their next phase of integration."

"The Antares rocket, as well as the Cygnus spacecraft that it will launch on the next cargo mission to the space station are now essentially built and tested and ready for cargo loading at the Wallops Island launch site," said David Thompson, president and CEO of Orbital ATK, during a quarterly call with investment analysts Thursday. "We were, and are, on schedule to carry (cargo loading) out this month, but I think NASA's going to delay that probably until October in order to provie a full load of cargo."


File photo of an Orbital ATK Cygnus cargo craft prepared for launch earlier his year on an Atlas 5 rocket in Florida. Credit: NASA/Cory Huston

"There's one particular item, a spare part or subsystem for the space station, that they'd like us to carry on this mission, and that cargo element is going to pace the launch and it's running a bit later than previously expected," Thompson said.

Orbital ATK officials said in June they could be ready to launch the next Antares rocket before the end of the summer, with liftoff then targeted for Sept. 12.

The launch date has been rescheduled for Oct. 11, according to Sam Scimemi, director for the International Space Station program at NASA Headquarters. Scimemi briefed members of the NASA Advisory Council's human exploration and operations committee on the station's status in late July.

DeMauro said the Cygnus spacecraft, which comes in two major pieces, is nearly ready for the flight this fall, named OA-8 in Orbital ATK's mission sequence. The ship's pressurized cargo module, transported from its Thales Alenia Space factory in Turin, Italy, is at Wallops, and the Cygnus service module for the OA-8 mission has completed testing at Orbital ATK's manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia, and is ready for the trip to Wallops launch site, he said.

Thompson said Thursday that the OA-8 launch delay makes it unlikely the company can fit two more station cargo flights this year. The next one, OA-9, is expected to lift off in the first quarter of 2018, and DeMauro said the Italian-built cargo module for that Cygnus spacecraft is already at Wallops, too.

Three of Orbital ATK's last four Cygnus flights have lifted off on United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets as engineers redesigned the Antares first stage propulsion system in the wake of a launch failure in October 2014. The first Antares launch with new Russian-made RD-181 engines last October went well, officials said, increasing the weight of cargo that can be lofted by the rocket.

The earlier version of the Antares could send an "enhanced" Cygnus spacecraft — flying with a lengthened cargo module — packed with up to 5,950 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of supplies to the space station. Engineers initially predicted the upgraded Antares could lift up to 7,050 pounds (3,200 kilograms) of cargo and experiments, but the redesigned rocket performed better than expected, and the OA-8 mission will be capable of hauling up to 7,385 pounds (3,350 kilograms) of payloads to the space station, according to Kurt Eberly, the Antares program manager at Orbital ATK.

"We've done a detailed data review from all the data on that mission, and it was a very clean mission," Eberly said in a June press briefing. "Very good performance. We got a little more energy out of the first stage and the second stage than we were counting on. We always put a little margin in, and it turns out we can release a lot of that margin, and that's helping us achieve some of these higher performance levels."


The last Antares rocket launch in October 2016 marked the first flight of the redesigned first stage with new RD-181 main engines. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

By the time Orbital ATK launches its 11th cargo mission, a flight scheduled no earlier than December 2018, officials said the Antares/Cygnus combination will be able to deliver more than 7,700 pounds (3,500 kilograms) of logistics and provisions to the space station per launch.

The new RD-181 engines produce more thrust than the Antares rocket's previous AJ26 engines, and they burn their kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants more efficiently.

Eberly said mission designers took a conservative approach on the Antares launch last October, the first with RD-181 engines.

"We flew to a delta velocity threshold," Eberly said. "When we hit that, we shut down the engines. We had a lot of fuel left in the tanks. Now, we're just going to move that threshold a little higher and burn more of the fuel in the first stage. At that point in the flight regime, the acceleration is pretty high because the stage is pretty light. Most of the propellant is gone, so you actually pick up quite a bit of performance by burning just a few more seconds into that propellant residual in the tanks."

NASA awarded Orbital ATK — then called Orbital Sciences — its first commercial resupply contract alongside SpaceX in December 2008. The space agency sel ected the companies to ferry equipment to the space station after the space shuttle's retirement.

Each company has suffered one launch failure while attempting to deliver supplies to the station.

NASA asked for bids again in 2014 for contracts to meet the station's logistic's needs from 2019 through 2024, and again chose Orbital ATK and SpaceX. The agency added Sierra Nevada Corp.'s Dream Chaser spaceplane as a third cargo transportation provider. Each company is guaranteed at least six missions under the new cargo contract.

DeMauro said Orbital ATK's future missions will give NASA flexibility in choosing what type of equipment it needs to haul to the orbital research outpost.


File photo of a Cygnus spacecraft arriving at the International Space Station. Credit: NASA

Starting in 2019, station managers can pick between three different types of Cygnus resupply missions.

"The first mission type is a pressurized cargo mission on Antares, very similar to what we're flying on OA-8 to OA-11," DeMauro said in a July 11 interview. "Those will have a little bit more cargo capacity, but it's an Antares-based mission.

"The second mission type is an Atlas-based mission," he said. "It's still a pressurized cargo mission, but it has even more cargo. We included that as an option for NASA just so they could optimize what they wanted in terms of cargo delivery from our system."

The Antares missions will continue to lift off from Virginia, while future Atlas 5 launches with Cygnus cargo carriers will depart from Cape Canaveral. Thales Alenia Space would build a bigger version of the Cygnus pressurized cargo module for the Atlas 5 flights, DeMauro said.

"The third mission type is an unpressurized cargo mission, and that's based on Antares," DeMauro said.
 "So two of the three are Antares-based and one is Atlas-based, and we included that Atlas-based mission (option) just to give NASA the flexibility for a larger pressurized cargo delivery."

Orbital ATK's concept for the unpressurized cargo system would involve removing the Cygnus pressurized cabin from the service module and adding a platform to hold experiments and spare parts that will go outside the space station. Many of those components are the size of a coffee table.

"You can think of it as having various shelving and strongback structures to be able to carry those big ORUs (Orbital Replacement Units) up inside an Antares," DeMauro said.

NASA has authorized the first of the six Cygnus flights planned from 2019 through 2014. Named OA-12, that mission will launch on an Antares booster fr om Wallops Island with pressurized cargo.

"We have 6 missions that have been contracted for on CRS-2," said Frank Culbertson, a former astronaut and president of Orbital ATK's space systems group. "The first one has been given a go-ahead for activity, so we are doing long-lead purchasing, beginning the process to ... start building the structure. That one should launch in, we hope, 2019."
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tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 21 мин. назад

Skrobot showed chart of upcoming Educational Launch of Nanosatellites missions. (Some dates will change...) #smallsat

tnt22