{"id":39131,"date":"2016-02-12T20:41:27","date_gmt":"2016-02-12T12:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/orbital-atk-oa-6-mission-to-debut-new-science-objectives-for-company\/"},"modified":"2016-02-12T20:41:27","modified_gmt":"2016-02-12T12:41:27","slug":"orbital-atk-oa-6-mission-to-debut-new-science-objectives-for-company","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/orbital-atk-oa-6-mission-to-debut-new-science-objectives-for-company\/","title":{"rendered":"Orbital ATK OA-6 mission to debut new science objectives for company"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Orbital ATK\u2019s first Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft performs well at the International Space Station, the company is looking ahead to its next mission, the OA-6 resupply flight that, while delayed until at least 22 March due to a mold contamination issue, is set to debut new science initiatives for Orbital ATK and Cygnus.<\/p>\n

OA-6 delay:<\/b><\/p>\n

At the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United Launch Alliance is in the process of preparing the Atlas V core stage and Centaur second stage of the Atlas V 401 rocket for launch of the Orbital ATK OA-6 mission to the International Space Station (ISS).<\/p>\n

\"ScreenThat mission, originally scheduled to launch in early March, has been delayed until at least 22 March because of black mold spore contamination found inside cargo bags that were to be loaded onto the Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft.<\/p>\n

Following the discovery of the mold spores, NASA decided to disinfect all of the cargo bags for OA-6.<\/p>\n

The decision ended up having a direct impact on the targeted early-March launch date for OA-6 because the now-required decontamination involved more time to complete then the remaining ground processing timeline had to support the original launch date.<\/p>\n

Presently, 22 March is considered the earliest possible launch date \u2013 a No Earlier Than (NET) date \u2013 for the OA-6 mission, with disinfection of all cargo bags a top priority and the main driver for the launch date at this time.<\/p>\n

\"Z8\"While the long-term effects of black mold on the human body are still being studied and are still \u201cinconclusive\u201d according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the short-term and immediate effects are well known and something NASA prides itself on preventing in terms of exposure for the crew aboard the ISS.<\/p>\n

Space Technology<\/path>Aerospace industry analysis<\/path>NASA educational resources<\/path>\n

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Notably, this is not the first time a contamination issue on a commercially contracted resupply mission to the ISS has caused the delay of a resupply flight.<\/p>\n

In March 2014, the SpaceX CRS-3 resupply mission was delayed due to potential oil contamination from a sewing machine used to stitch cloth shields employed to protect the payload in the aft cargo trunk of the Dragon module.<\/p>\n

For OA-6, however, this launch delay might provide NASA time to add more cargo to Cygnus for the fifth Orbital ATK resupply mission to Station.<\/p>\n

\"2015-08-07-122716\"According to Frank DeMauro, Vice President of Human Space Systems and Space Logistics & CRS Program Director for Orbital ATK, \u201cWe design the system and the processes for the packing of the module to give NASA as much flexibility as we can \u2013 regardless of whether that\u2019s on an Atlas or Antares.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s room in the cargo module and there\u2019s lift capability on the rocket \u2013 which there is in this case \u2013 and NASA wants to add more cargo than we currently have planned, then we will do that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n