Launch News Orbital ATK OA-8 Space Station Cargo Resupply (November 12, 2017, 7:14:52 a.m. EST)

Nicholas Kang

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Successful Launch!


Launch scrubbed today due to violation of restricted airspace by a plane just minuets before liftoff. Tomorrow's launch opportunity is at 7:14:52 a.m. EST (12:14:52 GMT). NASA coverage will start at 6:45 am EST tomorrow.

Live video coverage for tomorrow's launch is now from NASA TV (Media and Public Education)

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Launch Time and Date|November 11, 2017; 7:37 a.m. EST
Launch Site|MARS Pad 0A, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia
Mission Customer|NASA

OA-8 Fact Sheet is available here.

Mission Update

Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its OA-8 mission to the International Space Station on November 11 with the five-minute launch window opening at 7:37 a.m. EST. The S.S. Gene Cernan Cygnus will launch aboard an Antares launch vehicle for the sixth time from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The spacecraft will deliver vital supplies and scientific equipment to the station as part of Orbital ATK’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. Integration and testing of the Antares launch vehicle and Cygnus spacecraft are complete, and spacecraft encapsulation is scheduled for later this week. Watch the launch live beginning at 7:00 a.m. EST on launch day on NASA TV.

Live broadcast:




Want to see the launch in person? Have a look at the chart below:

Viewing Map for OA-8 Launch

*Weather permitting, the launch of Antares from Wallops Island, Virginia, on November 11, 2017 may be widely visible along the East Coast. However, because this is an early morning launch, it is likely that the sun will interfere with viewing from most locations.*

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About Antares

Designed to provide responsive and low-cost access to space, Antares is a two-stage vehicle (with optional third stage) that provides low-Earth orbit (LEO) launch capability for payloads weighing up to 8,000 kg. Internally funded by Orbital ATK, Antares completed a risk reduction mission and a demonstration of commercial re-supply services for the International Space Station (ISS) under a NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) agreement in 2013. Orbital ATK commenced delivery of cargo to the ISS under the NASA Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract in 2014.

About Cygnus

Cargo is delivered to the station using Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft. The Cygnus spacecraft consists of two modules: the Service Module (SM) which incorporates the avionics, propulsion and power systems from Orbital ATK’s flight proven LEOStar and GEOStar spacecraft buses; and the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) which carries the crew supplies, spares and scientific experiments. The SM is integrated and tested at Orbital ATK’s Dulles, Virginia satellite manufacturing facility. The PCM is supplied by Thales Alenia Space and is produced in Turin Italy.

S.S. Gene Cernan

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Orbital ATK has named the OA-8 Cygnus Cargo Delivery Spacecraft after former astronaut Eugene “Gene” Cernan. As the last human to step foot on the moon, Cernan set records for both lunar surface extravehicular activities and longest time in lunar orbit, paving the way for future human space exploration.

More info about Orbital ATK CRS missions can be found in this fact sheet.

Gallery

[ame="https://twitter.com/orbitalatk/status/928425461209853953"]Orbital ATK on Twitter: "#OA8 Mission Update: #Cygnus encapsulation is complete and we are prepping #Antares for roll to @VCSFA_MARS Pad 0A early tomorrow morning! https://t.co/D7uCKX7Kju"[/ame]

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GLS

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Delayed to tomorrow, as someone decided to fly a plane into the restricted airspace... :facepalm:
 

Wolf

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Delayed to tomorrow, as someone decided to fly a plane into the restricted airspace... :facepalm:

I have the feeling an FAA pilot license is pending to be revoked there...
 

DaveS

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Instantaneous launch windows, man. :shrug:
Not an instantaneous launch window. They had 5 minutes, but it takes alot longer than 5 minutes to safe and secure the vehicle from a last second abort. They were inside the automatic sequence so that added some time as well. Then once the safing had been done, they would have to restart the countdown again from whatever the last safe milestone would have been.

Rendezvous missions in high inclination orbits are notorious for having very short launch windows.

Orbital altitude really only have a small impact. See the Shuttle HST Service Missions for a great example of this quirk of orbital mechanics. Even though HST is at the service ceiling of the shuttle (600 km, burn half the OMS propellant just to get to it, the remainder for the de-orbit burn), they still had a 2 hour long launch window, even for the heavyweight Columbia. This was all thanks HST's placement in a low inclination orbit (28.5°, due east from KSC).
 

GLS

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Geno is in space again!
 
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