Tag: Antares
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Two Antares failure probes produce different results
Orbital’s Antares rocket suffers a failure moments after liftoff Oct. 28, 2014, from Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky An Orbital ATK investigation into last year’s Antares rocket crash in Virginia identified a decades-old manufacturing defect inside an AJ26 engine turbopump as the most likely cause of the failure, but a team of NASA engineers…
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One year after Antares failure, Orbital ATK nears return to flight
Orbital’s Antares rocket suffers a failure moments after liftoff Oct. 28, 2014, from Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky A year after a launch mishap left Orbital ATK’s Cygnus supply ship without a ride to the International Space Station, company officials say the firm’s cargo delivery system is on the verge of a comeback, thanks…
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Cygnus supply ship takes weather satellite’s slot in Atlas manifest
Updating Cygnus processing location. The service module for Orbital ATK’s next Cygnus cargo craft will be shipped to the launch site at Cape Canaveral from Virginia later this month. It features upgrades such as fan-shaped solar arrays and a lengthened cargo module. Credit: Orbital ATK. Orbital ATK plans to launch its next two commercial resupply…
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Workers complete $15 million in repairs to Antares launch pad
Launch pad 0A has been repaired after sustaining $15.2 million in damage during the Oct. 28, 2014, failure of an Antares rocket. Credit: VCSFA Repair crews in Virginia have restored the Antares booster’s launch pad — damaged in an explosive rocket crash nearly one year ago — to flight-ready status as the Orbital ATK launcher…
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Planet Labs takes rash of launch failures in stride
One of Planet Labs’ satellites captured this shot of a fire burning near Itumbiara, Brazil. Credit: Planet Labs No one had ever lost 26 satellites at once until a launch failure bit Planet Labs last year, temporarily setting back the San Francisco startup’s ambition to map the globe every day. Adding to the sting of…
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Enhanced Cygnus to help Orbital ATK meet CRS contract by 2017
The first flight of Orbital ATK’s Enhanced Cygnus resupply craft for the International Space Station is set to launch in December atop an Atlas V rocket. Helping Orbital ATK return to flight operations, the Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft will allow the company to meet their initial CRS cargo up-mass contract with NASA in just four more missions. Enhanced Cygnus: December’s upcoming…
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Orbital ATK receives orders for two more ISS cargo flights
The Italian-built pressurized cargo module for Orbital ATK’s next resupply mission to the International Space Station arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 10. The Cygnus service module is due to arrive at KSC in October for launch Dec. 3 aboard an Atlas 5 rocket. Credit: Orbital ATK NASA has put off…
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Orbital ATK make progress toward Return To Flight of Antares rocket
Following the loss of the CRS-3 resupply mission last October, Orbital ATK has made steady progress in repairing and rebuilding their ground facilities at Wallops and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. Despite the always difficult mishap recovery process, Orbital ATK is now on track to return an upgraded version of their Antares rocket to flight in the early part of 2016. Returning Antares…
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New engines arrive at Antares rocket launch site
File photo of an Antares rocket on its launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Orbital ATK The first pair of new Russian main engines for Orbital ATK’s modernized Antares rocket has arrived at the company’s Virginia launch base as engineers prepare to return the commercial booster to flight after a catastrophic failure last year.…
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Cygnus set for December Atlas V ride ahead of Antares return
Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft is set to return to International Space Station (ISS) resupply duties in December, hitching a ride on an Atlas V, prior to resuming operations with the modified Antares rocket in 2016. Cygnus has been out of action since the CRS-3/OrB-3 failure that occurred in October 2014 – with the full investigation…