Tag: Cygnus
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Station-bound cargo ship shown to press before launch
The Orbital ATK’s Cygnus commercial resupply spacecraft, named the SS Deke Slayton II, is packed up and poised for launch to the International Space Station. Engineers showed the vessel to local reporters and photographers at the Kennedy Space Center’s Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility on Friday. It will be encapsulated in the Atlas 5 rocket’s 14-foot…
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Stacking starts for Atlas 5 cargo run to space station with Cygnus
The mission poster. Credit: ULA CAPE CANAVERAL — United Launch Alliance today began stacking its first Atlas 5 rocket to fly in service to the International Space Station, a commercial mission to send supplies to the orbiting complex. This launch, planned for Dec. 3, and another targeted for March 10, are precursors to the much…
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NASA delays cargo award again, eliminates Boeing from contention
A SpaceX Dragon cargo craft is seen grappled by the International Space Station’s robotic arm. Credit: NASA NASA has delayed the award of new contracts for cargo transportation services between Earth and the International Space Station, and eliminated an uncrewed version of Boeing’s human-rated CST-100 Starliner capsule from the competition, officials said Thursday. The agency…
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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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Bags are packed inside Cygnus commercial cargo freighter
Technicians load cargo inside the Cygnus spacecraft’s pressurized supply section in this photo taken Oct. 20. Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis The first installment of supplies and provisions tagged for launch on Orbital ATK’s next commercial supply run to the International Space Station, the company’s first since a catastrophic launch failure last year, has been loaded into…
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Cygnus service module arrives in Florida for station flight
The Cygnus service module for the OA-4 space station resupply mission arrives at Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. Credit: Orbital ATK The power and propulsion section of Orbital ATK’s next Cygnus supply ship, featuring new solar panel and fuel tank designs, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday to be joined with…
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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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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…