Cygnus OA-8 (CRS-8 ) - Antares-230 - MARS LP-0A - 12.11.1017 12:19 UTC

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Попытка № 2...

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11/12/2017 12:12

The Antares countdown began anew earlier this morning, with the opening of the prelaunch checklist at 12:59 a.m. EST (0559 GMT).

The Antares rocket has been powered up, and the launch team is going through a checklist of testing to ensure all systems are in good shape.

Propellant loading should begin around 90 minutes prior to liftoff.

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T -3 часа. Проводятся проверки...
 

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11/12/2017 12:16

Earlier in the countdown, the launch team also tested the Antares rocket's beacon and telemetry transmitters, the flight termination system and arming systems, and the propellant loading sequencer was initiated, beginning steps to ready Antares and ground systems for filling of the first stage with liquid propellants.

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11/12/2017 12:18

Chilldown of the launch pad's liquid oxygen loading system is also confirmed underway.

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 1 мин назад

Countdown operations re-started just after midnight, local time. #Antares was powered up and went through initial electrical and communication checks, guidance system config and safe/arm tests. The Prop Load Sequencer was started around one hour ago.

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 3 мин назад

#Antares currently in propellant load setup tasks. The Red Team has been ordered back to the pad to deal with a misconfigured valve. Prop flow is expected at T-1 hour & 35 minutes, a little over an hour from now.

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 2 мин назад

Toxics, wind drift and Distant Focusing Overpressure safety criteria are reported GREEN at the T-2.5-hour checkpoint. #Antares

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11/12/2017 13:16

Two hours until launch. The Antares countdown is in a pre-planned hold, but the launch team is still targeting 7:14 a.m. EST (1214 GMT) for liftoff from pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 2 мин назад

#Antares countdown ops now in the first of two built-in holds. Fuel transfer lines have been primed for taking and Liquid Oxygen is into chilldown ops. Second Mission Simulation Test is complete.

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11/12/2017 13:23

The latest briefing from the launch weather officer shows a 95 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time, with just a slight probability of a low cloud ceiling that could move over the Antares pad at Wallops Island, Virginia.

Current conditions show a few clouds at 2,000 feet, broken to overcast cloud decks at 20,000 feet and 26,000 feet, unrestricted visibility, 5-knot winds from the northwest, and a temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

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NASA Wallops‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_Wallops 2 мин. назад

90 minutes until the launch window, and we are "go" for fueling of @OrbitalATK's Antares rocket.

ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 3 мин назад

The #Antares Launch Team has given a GO for propellant loading on time at T-1 hour and 35 minutes. Latest weather update is 95% GO with only a small chance of a low cloud ceiling building up before launch.

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Updated: 11/12/2017 13:35

Propellant will soon be pumped into the Antares rocket's first stage. About 21,000 gallons of RP-1, a high-refined rocket-grade kerosene, and about 41,000 gallons of liquid oxygen will be loaded into the first stage over the next half-hour.

Спойлер

The kerosene is stored at roughly room temperature and the liquid oxygen is chilled to around minus 298 degrees Fahrenheit. The oxygen will slowly boil off during the countdown, and liquid oxygen will continue flowing into the rocket until shortly before liftoff.

One change introduced by the Antares 230 rocket, which made its maiden flight in 2016, is the elimination of "sub-cooled" liquid oxygen chilled and densified at minus 383 degrees Fahrenheit for the Antares rocket's old AJ26 engines. The RD-181s consume the oxidizer at its boiling point.

The first stage tanks are designed by Yuzhnoye and built by Yuzhmash in Ukraine based on heritage from the Zenit rocket. The liquid oxygen tank is positioned in the upper part of the 12.8-foot-diameter stage and the RP-1 tank is in the lower part of the stage.

The first stage's two RD-181 engines will consume the liquid propellant during a 3-minute, 35-second burn.

The Antares second stage, a Castor 30XL motor built by Orbital ATK, is propelled by solid fuel already loaded into the rocket.

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Spaceflight Now‏ @SpaceflightNow 2 мин. назад

Fueling of the Antares rocket has started with RP-1 kerosene now flowing into the first stage. There are no issues reported at this point in the countdown. Live coverage: https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/10/oa-8-mission-status-center/ ...

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11/12/2017 13:45

Filling of the Ukrainian-built first stage with kerosene fuel has switched to high-flow mode. The start of liquid oxygen loading will come in the next few minutes.

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11/12/2017 13:49

Low-flow loading of liquid oxygen into the first stage has begun, the launch team confirms.

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11/12/2017 13:51

Спойлер

Fueling operations continue for today's liftoff at 7:14:52 a.m. EST (1214:52 GMT). The launch window extends for five minutes.

Wallops regularly launches suborbital sounding rockets for scientific and engineering research purposes, and the facility has occasionally launched small satellites with Orbital ATK's Minotaur rockets.

The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority owns the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, which oversaw development of the launch pad used by Antares. The Commonwealth of Virginia paid for about $80 million of the $120 million cost of the launch pad, with most of the rest of the funding coming from the federal government.

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Combined with the cost of the Antares hangar and a Minotaur rocket launch pad just south of the Antares facility, the MARS complex cost about $150 million.

After the Antares launch failure in October 2014, NASA, Orbital ATK and MARS each contributed $5 million to repair the launch pad.

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 2 мин. назад

So far, everything is proceeding well with the count. Fueling is underway. There are no constraints to launch at this time. #Cygnus #Antares #OA8E @OrbitalATK

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ISS Updates‏ @ISS101 1 мин назад

The Transporter-Erector-Launcher is now being prepared for launch by removing its pre-load, opening clamps and priming the structure for rapid retract at the moment of liftoff. #Antares

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Chris G - NSF‏ @ChrisG_NSF 19 сек. назад

Our precise targeted launch time this morning is - right now - 07:14:52 EST (12:14:52 UTC). Launch teams will adjust the to-the-second mark a little later in the count. #Cygnus #Antares #OA8E @OrbitalATK