Updates Orbital's Antares (Taurus II) & Cygnus

[IronRain]

Commercial Cargo Module Arrives at Wallops

 

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NASA:
Step in Space Station Commercial Re-Supply Accomplished

Click on images to enlarge​

NASA's partnership with industry to develop transportation to the International Space Station reached another step Aug. 23, as the cargo module for Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Cygnus spacecraft, which will carry supplies to the station, arrived at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft is scheduled for a demonstration flight early next year on an Orbital Taurus II launch vehicle under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services agreement with the company.

All photos credit: NASA/Wallops Flight Facility

Click on images to enlarge​

 

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: FAA approves launch of Orbital's demo flight:

The Federal Aviation Administration has granted Orbital Sciences Corp. a license to launch a demonstration flight to the International Space Station early next year, the company announced today.

The first launch of Orbital's Cygnus cargo module atop a Taurus II rocket is tentatively planned in late February from Wallops Island, Va.

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Parabolic Arc: Successful Test Firing Conducted on Taurus II’s AJ-26 Engine:

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 29, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Aerojet, a GenCorp company, announced today that along with NASA and Orbital Sciences Corporation, the team conducted a successful ground test firing of an AJ26-62 flight engine that will power Orbital’s Taurus® II medium-class space launch vehicle. The test was conducted at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

“The successful test is a testament to our strong belief in collaboration and commitment,” said Executive Director of Space and Launch Systems, Pete Cova. “Successful engine testing, integration and deliveries are evidence of the strong partnerships that Aerojet has with Orbital, along with NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Wallops Flight Facility and Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE).”

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Spaceflight Now: Taurus 2 rocket engine tests resume for January launch

 

[MaverickSawyer]

Nice day for Aerojet Sacramento.
Sounds like they fixed that fuel line problem...

 

[N_Molson]

Good to see that the N1 hardware was not completely built in vain after all...

SpaceFlight Now :

Taurus 2 rocket engine tests resume for January launch

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
Posted: September 30, 2011

Orbital Sciences and Aerojet resumed testing of a Russian rocket engine for the Taurus 2 rocket this week, the first firing of the 40-year-old engines since one of the power plants caught fire on the test stand in June.

The AJ26 engine fired in Mississippi for about 54 seconds on Wednesday. Credit: Aerojet/Orbital Sciences

The AJ26 engine ignited Wednesday at NASA's Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, consuming rocket-grade kerosene and liquid oxygen for approximately 54 seconds in a perfect test, according to Frank Culbertson, senior vice president of advanced programs at Orbital Sciences Corp.

Orbital Sciences will use the AJ26 engines to power the first stage of the Taurus 2 rocket, a medium-lift launcher under development to haul cargo to the International Space Station. On a real flight, the engines will burn for nearly four minutes.

The first test flight of the Taurus 2 is scheduled for no earlier than December from a commercial spaceport at Wallops Island, Va. But officials say the launch will probably slip into the beginning of next year.

The engine fired in Mississippi on Wednesday is one of two power plants that will be on the test flight.

Engineers will fire another AJ26 engine at Stennis in October, then both engines will be shipped to Wallops for integration with the Ukrainian-built Taurus 2 first stage.

The test flight will carry a dummy payload with sensors to track how the rocket performs during the launch. Orbital's automated Cygnus spaceship will be aboard the second Taurus 2 mission, which will reach the space station.

"We take engines through Stennis for an acceptance test firing, and then if that goes well we bring them to Wallops and integrate them together into the thrust frame in the first stage," Culbertson said in an interview.

Wednesday's test was the first firing of an AJ26 engine since a mishap in June, when a weakened propellant line split open and spilled fuel, generating a fire on the test stand. After an investigation and some repairs, the AJ26 test campaign resumed on Wednesday.

"The root cause was stress corrosion cracking," Culbertson said. "These engines are 40 years old. They had been inspected, but I think there was some cracking that Aerojet didn't suspect and hadn't really tested for. It manifested itself by basically unzipping the line and that spilled fuel and caused a fire. The drop in pressure actually shut everything down, so there was very little damage. The engine itself probably could eventually be repaired if it needed to be."

Artist's concept of the Taurus 2 rocket. Credit: Orbital Sciences

The AJ26 is a kerosene-fueled engine modified by Aerojet from the Russian NK-33 powerplant. Each Taurus 2 rocket first stage will be powered by two AJ26 engines.

Kept in storage for four decades, the NK-33 engines were originally designed and built in the 1960s and 1970s for the ill-fated Soviet N1 moon rocket.

Aerojet converts the NK-33 to an AJ26 engine by removing some harnessing, adding U.S. electronics, qualifying it for U.S. propellants, and modifying the system to gimbal for steering, according to company officials.

Orbital Sciences has already received two AJ26 engines for a static test firing of the Taurus 2 on the launch pad later this year. The engine fired Wednesday, along with a second unit due for testing in October, will power the Taurus 2 into space for the first time.

The engines for the first flight were cherry-picked from Aerojet's inventory. Aerojet has 37 NK-33 engines under its control. Each engine can generate up to 370,000 pounds of thrust.

Culbertson said he expects the test flight to slip until some time in January, based on slowed progress readying the Taurus 2 launch pad at Wallops.

"We've had to go in and do things like certify the welds that hold the launch mount that holds the rocket during the testing and the launch operations," Culbertson said. "We had some problems so they're having to redo some of that. The tanks had to be recleaned for a variety of reasons, some of which were they had just been out there for a while."

Orbital says it could fly its Cygnus cargo freighter to the space station on the second Taurus 2 launch within two months of a successful test flight.

 

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Orbital: (Oct. 2011) Updated Taurus II & COTS/CRS Development & Flight Milestones (PDF)

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Parabolic Arc: Orbital Delays First Taurus II Launch Two Months

 

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Parabolic Arc: Andrews Space Delivers Cargo Module Power Unit for Orbital’s Cygnus Spacecraft

 

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Parabolic Arc: Taurus II’s AJ26 Engine Test Fired at Stennis:

NASA PR — A team of engineers at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center conducted a test firing on an Aerojet AJ26 flight engine Nov. 17, providing continued support to Orbital Sciences Corporation as it prepares to launch commercial cargo missions to the International Space Station.

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Parabolic Arc: ATK to Supply Solar Arrays for Orbital’s Cygnus Freighter:

ATK PR — ATK (NYSE: ATK) was awarded a $20 million contract by Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) to provide its UltraFlex™ solar arrays to power Orbital’s enhanced Cygnus™ cargo logistics space vehicle, which is being utilized under NASA’s Commercial Resupply System contract.

The disk-shaped UltraFlex solar arrays measure more than 11 feet in diameter and are made of ultra-lightweight materials that provide high strength and stiffness as well as compact stowage volume. With the same power but at a significantly reduced mass from the original arrays, the UltraFlex solar arrays will contribute to an overall increased payload capability of the enhanced Cygnus vehicle to provide resupply services to the International Space Station.

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NASASpaceflght: Taurus II changes name to the Antares ahead of debut launch:

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s new launch vehicle – currently being developed as a simple solution to continue to support the medium class satellite market, as well as to loft much-needed cargo to the International Space Station via the company’s Cygnus spacecraft – has changed its name from Taurus II to the Antares.

Name Change:

In announcing the change for the permanent operational name for the medium-class launch vehicle created by its research and development program formerly known as Taurus II, Orbital noted they felt the new launch vehicle deserved a name of its own, as opposed to carrying on the Taurus call sign.

Orbital selected the name in keeping with the company’s tradition of using Greek-derived celestial names for launch vehicles. Antares is one of the brightest stars in the sky. Classified as a “supergiant” star, it is located in the constellation Scorpius and has a red hue when observed by the naked eye.

Antares was also the name for the Apollo 14 lunar module.

“We are transitioning to the Antares identity primarily because a launch vehicle of this scale and significance deserves its own name, just like Orbital’s Pegasus, Taurus and Minotaur rocket programs that have come before it,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

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Florida Today - The Flame Trench: Orbital: Taurus II is now Antares

Orbital: Orbital Selects "Antares" as Permanent Name for New Rocket Created by the Taurus II R&D Program

SPACE.com: Meet Antares: Private Rocket Project Gets New Name

Parabolic Arc: Meet Antares, the Rocket Formerly Known as Taurus II



I've altered the title of this thread, too.

 

[Ripley]

Errr....does Orbital Sciences Corporation know that "Antares" is a FOI registered trademark??
:lol:

 

[kuddel]

Errr....does Orbital Sciences Corporation know that "Antares" is a FOI registered trademark??
:lol:

If you promise to spend all the enormous amounts of money you will get after that lawsuit into further Orbiter-Addon development, I'm willing to testify for you

Either way: One has to call it "Ain't ares" afterwards.:lol:
/Kuddel

 

[Kyle]

Well.. atleast its not called the Jarvis and the Antares.

 

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Parabolic Arc: Cygnus Undergoes Integration and Testing

Florida Today - The Flame Trench: Orbital continues preps for Cygnus flight this year

 

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Space News: Hold-down Test of Orbital’s Antares Rocket Slips to April as Pad Work Continues:

WASHINGTON — A hold-down test of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, a prerequisite for the launch vehicle’s maiden flight, likely will not be completed before April because of ongoing tests and certification work on the vehicle’s launch pad at Wallops Island, Va., a launch official said.

“It’s really an integrated form of testing that's going on now, as we speak, and we're looking at completing that, hopefully, by the first of April,” Billie Reed, director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, told Space News Jan. 16.

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Parabolic Arc: Orbital’s COTS Schedule Slides to the Right Again

 

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Parabolic Arc: First Antares Launch Delayed to June, CRS Mission to Late 2012:

OSC PR — Today, Orbital updated its 2012 COTS and CRS operational schedules. Gone is our colorful Development and Flight Milestones chart, now that we’re in the homestretch to our four major milestones for the year, which are as follows:

• May – Antares First-Stage Static Fire Test at Wallops
• June – Antares Test Flight for COTS
• Third quarter – COTS Demonstration Mission*
• Fourth quarter – CRS Mission #1*

*Orbital’s operational dates are subject to coordination with NASA’s ISS cargo delivery schedule

The Antares first stage core at Wallops Island.
Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation​

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Space News: Orbital Blames Spaceport for Another COTS Delay:

PARIS — Rocket and satellite builder Orbital Sciences Corp. on Feb. 21 said its program to provide commercial cargo services to the international space station under a NASA contract has fallen a further four months behind schedule, with a test flight of the unmanned freighter now scheduled to occur no earlier than August or September.

As was the case with the previous schedule slip, Dulles, Va.-based Orbital placed the blame for the delays squarely on the Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority, which is responsible for preparing the launch pad for Orbital’s Antares rocket — formerly named Taurus 2 — and its Cygnus space station cargo module.

In a conference call with investors, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson said even this revised schedule “is not a slam dunk” and requires that a series of key milestones go without a hitch.

These milestones begin with the completion of construction of pad facilities including propellant handling and pressurization systems at the Wallops Island, Va., spaceport, which should happen by early March, Thompson said. The entire facility will then need to be NASA-certified as operational, a process that could be completed by late April.

The Antares first stage then could be placed on the pad and test fired in May. Assuming no anomalies in this activity, a test flight of Antares without the Cygnus cargo carrier could occur in June or July. A smooth flight would pave the way for a test flight of Antares and its Cygnus module by September, a mission during which Cygnus would approach the space station and then be grappled by the station’s robotic arm and attached to the orbital outpost.

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SPACE.com: Launch Pad Work Adds Months of Delay for New Private Rocketship


Aviation Week: Orbital Hopes Antares On Pad In Five Weeks:

Barring additional difficulties getting a new launch pad ready at Wallops Island, Va., Orbital Sciences Corp. expects to begin fit checks and other pad work with its first Antares cargo launch vehicle late next month or early in April.

That would clear the way for a first launch of the liquid-fueled rocket late in June or early in July, and its first flight to the International Space Station with a load of cargo late in August or in September. Conceivably the first mission under the company’s eight-flight, $1.9 billion commercial resupply services (CRS) contract with NASA could come before the end of the year.

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Aviation Week: Orbital Sees First Antares Launch Midsummer

 

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NASA Wallops: Orbital Begins Antares First Stage Roll Out Pathfinder Operations

Spaceflight Now: Antares rocket first stage on the pad for pathfinder testing

Parabolic Arc: Antares Rolls Out for Pathfinder Operations

 

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Aviation Week: Antares Erected On Wallops Pad For Fit Checks

Spaceflight Now:

• PHOTOS: Antares rocket parts in the hangar
  
  
• PHOTOS: Antares first stage on the launch pad