Tag: Antares
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Return of Antares expected to target August launch with OA-5 Cygnus
Orbital ATK’s continuing preparations to return its Antares rocket to flight operations has resulted in an updated preliminary launch date in the August timeframe. The launch – involving the OA-5 Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) – requires static fire test data analysis to be completed, along with final trajectory shaping work. Antares…
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Return of Antares expected to target August launch with OA-5 Cygnus
Orbital ATK’s continuing preparations to return its Antares rocket to flight operations has resulted in an updated preliminary launch date in the August timeframe. The launch – involving the OA-5 Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) – requires static fire test data analysis to be completed, along with final trajectory shaping work. Antares…
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Re-engined Antares rocket completes ground test firing
Orbital ATK’s upgraded Antares rocket, featuring newly-built RD-181 main engines, completed a 30-second test firing on a launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore on Tuesday. The hotfire test is a key step before the Antares rocket returns to flight in July, resuming cargo service to the International Space Station from Virginia. Working from a control…
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Upgraded Antares rolls out to launch pad for tests
An Antares first stage booster rolls out to pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops, Island, Virginia, on Thursday. Credit: Orbital ATK An Antares booster emerged from its hangar on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and rolled out to its launch pad Thursday for the first time since a rocket failure grounded Orbital ATK’s cargo…
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Key return to flight milestone looms for Antares rocket
Orbital ATK technicians install two RD-181 engines to the base of an Antares rocket’s first stage booster last year at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA Targeting a resumption of Antares cargo launches to the International Space Station as soon as July, Orbital ATK plans to roll out an upgraded Antares rocket to a launch pad…
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Orbital ATK aims for summer debut of new Antares 230 variant
After over one and a half years worth of work, Orbital ATK is set to return their newly revamped and improved Antares rocket to flight, following the October 2014 mishap. Orbital ATK is currently targeting a May/June 2016 launch of the OA-5 flight for Antares’ Return To Flight mission. Antares’ Return To Flight – Preparing…
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Orbital ATK ready for Antares’ second life
Orbital ATK managers have finalized their procedures related to the newly upgraded Antares launch vehicle in readiness for upcoming missions to help deliver their Cygnus spacecraft on resupply runs to the International Space Station (ISS). The new Antares required a reworking of how to prepare the rocket for launch, such as moving away from sub-cooled…
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Orbital ATK ready for Antares’ second life
Orbital ATK managers have finalized their procedures related to the newly upgraded Antares launch vehicle in readiness for upcoming missions to help deliver their Cygnus spacecraft on resupply runs to the International Space Station (ISS). The new Antares required a reworking of how to prepare the rocket for launch, such as moving away from sub-cooled…
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Orbital ATK prepares for OA-6 Cygnus prior to Antares return
While the OA-4 Cygnus enjoys the berthed phase of her mission, Orbital ATK managers are already deep into parallel planning work with the Cygnus cargo resupply flight. The OA-6 Cygnus will also fly on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V, ahead of the company’s long-awaited transition back to its own upgraded Antares rocket. Cygnus OA-6:…
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NASA quietly posts images of explosive Antares failure
Less than a week after publishing the results of an independent investigation into last year’s Antares rocket failure, NASA has released dramatic new photos of the catastrophic crash just after liftoff from Wallops Island, Virginia. The space agency posted a handful of photos of the failure shortly after the ill-fated Oct. 28, 2014, Antares launch,…