Launch News Orbital's Antares Maiden Flight & ORB-D "G. David Low" Cygnus Demo updates.

kuddel

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I have no problem with Zoidberg ;) I only have not found any reason why they "renamed" one.

It seems they are re-renamed back to their "original" names now...whatever
 

orb

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Cygnus Mass Simulator Shown After Separation From Antares

Antares-Payload-Separation-LG.jpg

Source: Orbital
 

Donamy

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photo not showing for me. :(
 

Donamy

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I get an " Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage " error .
 

Urwumpe

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No problems here... it is just a normal JPG from a normal webserver... Can you access orbital.com?
 

Alfastar

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Well, I got the same problem as Donamy. I can't reach the Orbital science website also. I used google chrome and re-tested it on IE, and its still not loading for my.
 

Kyle

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Launch of ORB-D now scheduled for September 28th.
 

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All the "nominals" reminded me of this article I read in a store several weeks ago.

For Mowry, a routine launch is engineering nirvana. "We love the word nominal," he says after hearing a positive report from mission control.
 

Cosmic Penguin

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Launch of ORB-D now scheduled for September 28th.

http://www.orbital.com/Antares-Cygnus/

Antares Post-Flight Analysis Results - Flawless Launch Confirmed; Company Updates COTS Demonstration Mission Schedule

May 2013

In the two weeks following the successful debut fight of the Antares rocket on April 21, the program's technical team gathered and analyzed large volumes of data collected during the A-ONE mission's countdown, ignition and lift-off, and flight sequence. This data is used to validate that the launch vehicle's propulsion, navigation and other major subsystems, as well as the supporting ground systems, all performed as designed. The Antares team's conclusion was definitive: the rocket's first- and second-stage performance was right on the mark; the stage and fairing separation events were performed exactly as planned; and the data gathered from the heavily instrumented mass simulator payload confirmed Orbital's engineering models that predicted a benign launch environment for Cygnus and other future satellite payloads in terms of the thermal, acoustic, vibration, acceleration and other measurements captured during the flight.

"While the launch looked great to the casual observer, our team was hungry for data in order to validate our expectations for the rocket's performance," said Mr. Mike Pinkston, Orbital's Antares Program Manager. "Comprehensive post-flight analysis is an absolutely critical step to understanding exactly how a launch vehicle has performed and whether there are any necessary adjustments to its main systems prior to the next launch. Having intensively reviewed the data for a couple weeks, our conclusion was the inaugural Antares flight really was as good as it looked."

With the Antares Test Flight successfully completed, Orbital's Antares and Cygnus teams are now focused on the Demonstration Mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the final milestone in the COTS joint program with NASA. Orbital currently expects to be ready to carry out the Demonstration Mission in August. Orbital is swapping out one first stage AJ26 main engine for another unit that is already fully tested in order to further inspect and confirm a seal is functioning properly. The company expects the engine change-out process to add about three to four weeks to the schedule. In addition, missions to the ISS must be carefully scheduled with NASA to fit into the pre-planned traffic pattern at the orbiting laboratory. A Japanese cargo ship, the HTV, is also scheduled for a mission to the ISS in August. If the HTV schedule slips, Orbital expects to be ready to go in August. If the HTV holds its schedule, Orbital's Demonstration Mission could be planned for September.

Meantime, the Antares production team will keep pressing forward on the third Antares rocket that will launch the first of eight Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) missions. The CRS-1 mission is slated to take place in the fourth quarter of this year. For the CRS-1 mission, both AJ26 engines for that rocket have been fully tested and are already at Wallops. In addition, the two major components of the Cygnus spacecraft to be used for CRS-1 are complete and will be mated and integrated at Wallops this fall. The Service Module is fully tested and ready to be shipped to Wallops from Orbital's Dulles manufacturing facility, and the Pressurized Cargo Module is also complete and awaiting shipment to Wallops from Thales Alenia's plant in Turin, Italy.

Slightly disappointed that I can't witness this flight during the summer, though given I've missed most of the fun with the HTV last year it won't be a bad substitute.....
 
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Kyle

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The slip is attributed to HTV-4 and an engine replacement on Antares.
 

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Especially the first video shows clearer than I ever saw before the base end of Antares move towards the launch tower in order to start horizontal movement away from the tower.
Antonio Elias of Orbital Inc. called it "Baumgartner-Maneuver". Never before heard this name...
 

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Looking for an ORB-D launch on September 12th, moved up from September 28th.
 

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Orbital Sciences ‏@OrbitalSciences
COTS Demo Mission on Sept 15 takes place about 12:00 noon and moves about 20 min. earlier per day if the schedule slips.
 

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Orbital Sciences ‏@OrbitalSciences
COTS Demo Mission on Sept 15 takes place about 12:00 noon and moves about 20 min. earlier per day if the schedule slips.

One day before by "further qualifications" project starts... :idea:
 
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