Tag: COTS
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Cygnus ends successful mission with destructive farewell
Orbital’s Cygnus was commanded towards a destructive re-entry on Wednesday, marking the end of its successful ORB-D mission. The vehicle was unberthed from the International Space Station (ISS) and released by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) the day before, in a text book departure. Cygnus Success: Cygnus arrived at the orbital outpost on September 28, a…
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Cygnus performing well at the ISS ahead of unberthing
Orbital’s ORB-D Cygnus is into the final leg of its debut mission to the International Space Station (ISS), ready to pave the way the ORB-1 Cygnus – set to launch on December 15. The new kid on the block has enjoyed a trouble-free stay on the ISS, with the only issue relating to a cabin…
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Orbital’s Cygnus successfully berthed on the ISS
Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft made its second attempt to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday morning, resulting in a successful capture and berthing by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS). A week has passed since a discrepancy in the GPS data between the ISS and Cygnus resulted in the need to delay…
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Green light for Cygnus to re-approach ISS for Sunday berthing
NASA managers have approved Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft for a second attempt to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station. Cygnus required one line of code to be updated to its software, following a GPS discrepancy between the spacecraft and the Station. The successful action resulted in approval to press ahead with berthing on Sunday…
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Cygnus delays ISS berthing following GPS discrepancy
Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft was into the final leg of berthing with the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday morning, prior to a discrepancy relating to the way the ISS and Cygnus determine GPS data. The fascinating issue can be fixed via an update to Cygnus’ software, allowing for a second rendezvous and berthing attempt no…
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Orbital’s Antares launches Cygnus on debut mission to ISS
Orbital Sciences Corporation have launched the first Cygnus spacecraft Wednesday, beginning a demonstration mission to the International Space Station which will verify that the vehicle is ready to support NASA’s resupply needs. Liftoff from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Virginia, atop an Antares rocket occurred at 10:58 EDT. Cygnus ORB-D: The Cygnus Orb-D1…
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NASA planners switch next SpaceX Dragon mission to 2014
Planners within the ISS program have manifested the next two Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions. Both Orbital’s CRS-1 (ORB-1) and SpaceX’s CRS-3 (SpX-3) missions were initially provided with the same orbital place-holder in December, prior to this week’s decision to allow Cygnus to fly ahead of Dragon, with the latter moving to NET January 17,…
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Cygnus ISS debut provisionally moved to September
The debut mission for Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft – known as ORB-D – is now tracking a provisional launch date of September 28. The slip relates to an engine change out on the Antares that will launch Cygnus en route to the ISS, along with the Station’s busy Visiting Vehicle schedule and Solar Beta Angle cut-out…
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Stars align for Orbital’s Antares – A-One debut set for mid-April
Orbital’s Antares rocket is finally set to make its debut flight into space, following the approval of a launch window that opens on April 16. Dubbed the A-One mission, Antares will be tasked with a 603 second validation mission to loft a Cygnus mass simulator payload to a target orbit of 250 km x 300…
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Hot fire success for Orbital’s Antares
Orbital’s Antares vehicle has enjoyed a successful hot fire test on Friday. The success followed last week’s scrubbed attempt at at T-1.5 seconds – related to a low pressure purge condition ahead of engine ignition. With the issue resolved, the Antares came to life for the first time, firing its engines for 27 seconds. Antares…