Antares (Taurus II)

[Salo]

Посторонний пишет:
А когда они собираются огневые испытания провести?

Должны были в конце ноября с последующим пуском 17 декабря. Теперь всё явно ушло вправо.

[SpaceR]

Вроде как к ХСИ уже всё готово.
Если всё ok будет, думаю что и огневые вскоре (до 21.12.12 должны успеть.    )

[Вован]

SpaceR пишет:
Вроде как к ХСИ уже всё готово.
Если всё ok будет, думаю что и огневые вскоре (до 21.12.12 должны успеть.    )

Анатолий Васильевич Агарков там, поэтому все будет нормально.

[Salo]

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

Antares Cold Flow Testing Begins and  Antares A-ONE Gets All Dressed Up

December 2012

The Antares team began cold flow testing with a  first stage on the launch pad. The initial cold-flow tests validated the loading and unloading of liquid oxygen to the rocket. The top photo below is a still image captured by the pad video system.

Meanwhile, in the Horizontal Integration facility, the Antares to be employed for the test launch (mission A-ONE) has been dressed up with its logos (middle photo). The bottom image shows the first Antares payload fairing in the foreground with the cores for the A-ONE mission (left) and COTS demo mission (center) behind it.

[SpaceR]

Наши говорят - 5000 уже завершены, в целом успешно.

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/Article.aspx?id=/article-xml/awx_12_27_2012_p0-530068.xml

Orbital Sciences Poised For 2013 ISS Cargo Deliveries

By Mark Carreau mark.carreau@gmail.com
Source: AWIN First


December 27, 2012

Hurricane Sandy came and went in late 2012, as did many of the start up issues at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), elevating the prospects that Orbital Sciences Corp. will complete its NASA Commercial Orbital Transportation Systems program milestones in the New Year and begin lucrative cargo deliveries to the International Space Station.

A successful demonstration flight of Orbital's two stage Antares rocket from MARS including an inaugural rendezvous of its Cygnus cargo craft with the six-person orbiting science laboratory targeted for April would bring the Dulles, Va., based company's abbreviated five-year development effort under the COTS initiative to a successful close.

It also would trigger the start of a $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) agreement awarded to Orbital by NASA in late 2008. Orbital would join SpaceX to provide the 15-nation station program with the second U.S. re-supply source envisioned by NASA for the post-space shuttle era when COTS program planning began in 2005.

"We would certainly expect, if we go in April with the demo mission, to carry out at least one CRS mission in 2013, but that is really driven by NASA's needs and paced by NASA," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski says. "Orbital could certainly do two."

As 2012 came to a close, Orbital's inventory included a pair of the Antares boosters. A third pressurized Cygnus, built by Thales Alenia of Italy and based on the flight proven Multi-purpose Logistics Module used by the shuttle to re-supply the station, was about to join the inventory as well.

Orbital also has benefitted from the "lessons learned" provided by Hawthorne, Calif., based SpaceX. NASA's other COTS partner carried out its first CRS mission, under a $1.6 billion NASA contract, in October 2012, five months after its successful rendezvous demonstration mission.

"We talked about the experiences SpaceX was having," said Bruce Manners, the NASA COTS executive assigned to Orbital. "We gave them some direct lessons learned from the first mission with SpaceX that reinforced some of the things we were already doing, like simulations with the operations team. We've worked quite closely."

Both companies have experienced significant development delays, though there are crucial differences in the approaches taken by privately owned SpaceX and publicly traded Orbital. SpaceX chose the 60-year-old Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., as its launch site. Orbital chose MARS, which is newer and closer to its corporate home.

Hurricane Sandy's late October fury bypassed Florida and took aim at the U.S. Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, interrupting efforts by Orbital to break in a new commercial launch complex, overseen by the state of Virginia and located on NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.

As 2012 ended, Orbital was carrying out a series of countdown dress rehearsals in which fuel was pumped to an Antares first stage. The two-engine first stage, positioned on its MARS launch pad on Oct. 1. was to undergo an independent 29-sec. hot fire test in January.

The workload seemed likely to push a COTS required orbital test flight of the Antares with a Cygnus mass simulator into February 2013, Beneski said. The test flight does not involve a space station rendezvous.

SpaceX carried out a similar test of its Falcon 9 rocket with a Dragon mass simulator in December 2010, 18 months later than initially planned. Initially, Orbital envisioned a March 2011 test flight.

Orbital came to the COTS initiative in February 2008, replacing Rocketplane Kistler, which had missed a series of early technical and financial milestones. Like Rocketplane Kistler, SpaceX was a winner in an earlier COTS competition in August 2006.

Orbital and SpaceX were eligible for $396 million and $288 million, respectively, in NASA funding as they completed discrete development milestones. In addition, each was eligible for a $10 million fee for the delivery of cargo to the station on its final COTS rendezvous demonstration.

Cygnus will likely deliver about 1,000 lb. of supplies on its first station flight. The capsule is designed to haul up to 4,400 lb. of supplies. Orbital plans to introduce an extended version of Cygnus that can carry nearly 6,000 lb. after its series of eight commercial re-supply missions get underway.

Unlike Orbital, SpaceX's Dragon was developed to bring station research equipment and hardware in need of refurbishment back to Earth.

Whenever the first unpiloted Cygnus supply craft approaches the space station, Orbital can be assured that two or more astronauts aboard have been trained for the delicate task of tracking, capturing and berthing the capsule with the station's 58-ft.-long Canadian robot arm.

"The date is still in flux, and they are trying to make sure they do it right," said Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, who is scheduled to be in command of the station in April and a likely participant in the capture activities. NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, the station's current commander, as well as early 2013 NASA crew members Tom Marshburn and Chris Cassidy will be prepared as well.

[Посторонний]

Как прошла заливка топлива?
Огневые испытания проводились?

[Salo]

ХСИ прошли нормально. ОСИ в январе.

[Вован]

Посторонний пишет:
Как прошла заливка топлива?
Огневые испытания проводились?

Так и хочется поправить: "Как прошла заливка топлива ведрами?"

[Посторонний]

Вован пишет:

Посторонний пишет:
Как прошла заливка топлива?
Огневые испытания проводились?

Так и хочется поправить: "Как прошла заливка топлива ведрами?"

Я не это имел в виду.

[Посторонний]

Что нового по поводу первых испытаний Антареса?

[Salo]

Пока февраль.

[Salo]

http://www.astronautical.org/node/191
Von Braun 2012 Presentations
Frank Culbertson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Advanced Programs Group, Orbital Sciences Corporation

[Посторонний]

Antares "Cold Flow" Test Complete. "Hot Fire" Test is Next.
 January 2013
Orbital recently completed an extensive series of cold flow propellant tests, also known as wet dress rehearsals, at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch complex at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The series of tests were performed to confirm that the launch complex's propellant handling systems were performing according to specifications and were fully compatible with the liquid fuel first stage of the Antares rocket. With the completion of these flow tests, the Orbital team will begin to prepare for a "hot fire" test of the first stage, which is the final ground test before the inaugural flight of the Antares rocket. This test is currently scheduled to take place in February.
For the hot fire, Orbital will conduct a 29-second hold-down operation of the Antares first stage and its dual AJ26 rocket engines. The primary goals of the test will be to ensure that the pad's fueling systems and the Antares stage one test article function properly in a fully operational environment, that engine ignition and shut down commands operate as designed, and that the two AJ26 first stage engines perform properly in the dual engine configuration. The test will include a full propellant loading sequence, launch countdown and engine ignition operation. The pad's high volume water deluge system will also flow throughout the entire period of the test to protect the pad fr om damage and to provide general noise suppression.
After the test is successfully completed, the first stage test article will be returned to the Horizontal Integration Facility wh ere the core and two engines will be refurbished for a later flight.

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

[Димитър]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/tracking/index.html

March

[TD][SIZE=-1] Antares  •  Demo[/SIZE][/TD] [/TR]
 
[TR] [TD][SIZE=-2]Launch time: [/SIZE][SIZE=-2] TBD
 Launch site: Pad 0A, Wallops Island, Virginia
 
 The first Orbital Sciences Antares rocket, formerly known as the Taurus 2, will launch a simulated Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration flight. Delayed from October and December 2011. Delayed from Jan. 23, February, July 6, Aug. 9, late September, October and December 2012. Delayed from February. [Jan. 22][/SIZE][/TD][/TR]

[/TABLE]

[Димитър]

...

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=15457.msg1009616#msg1009616

Space Pete пишет:

From Twiter/@jeff_foust:

Culbertson: 1st Antares hot fire test planned for next Tuesday at Wallops; test flight in about a month to 5 weeks after. #faacstc

Culbertson: COTS demo flight planned about 3 months after Antares demo flight; 1st CRS flight 3-4 months after that. #faacstc

So, that gives a loose schedule of:

Hot fire: 12 February
Test flight: 12-19 March
COTS demo: Early-mid June
1st CRS flight: Sep-Oct

[Salo]

http://www.newspacewatch.com/articles/faa-conf-wed-afternoon-pt-2-notes.html

Frank Culbertson (Orbital Sciences)
 

[/li]
•       Cygnus - service module and pressurized cargo module
  
•       Will berth at same spot that Dragon uses
  
•       Four Cygnus modules in various stages of final assembly and testing
  
•       Facility near Dulles for testing
  
•       Enhanced Cygnus in development
  
•       Cargo loading at Wallops
  
•       Antares overview
  
•       3.9 m fairing
  
•       Aerojet AJ-26 - modified Russian NK-33 engines
  
•       First hot fire next Tuesday.
  
•       First launch a few weeks after that with a dummy test capsule
  
•       First launch with Cygnus then 4 months after that
  
•       Been longer road and more expensive than initially expected
  
•       Horizontal integration facility is complete (can be used by other launch firms)
  
•       Launch pad complete
  
•       VDOT (Virginia Dept. of Transportation) now supervisor of the MARS commercial launch facility
  
•       Tallest water tower
  
•       Wallops doesn't have launch conflicts but does have weather issues like hurricane Sandy
  
•       Stennis engine tests for 54 seconds
  

[instml]

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/antares/demo/status.html

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2013


 Orbital Sciences Corp. plans a 29-second hotfire of its Antares rocket Tuesday, testing the privately-developed booster's dual-engine first stage and ground systems on a launch pad at Wallops Island, Va. The engine test is a major step in Orbital's Antares rocket program, which aims to help haul cargo to the International Space Station beginning later this year.
Ignition of the rocket's two AJ26 engines is scheduled some time between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST (2300 to 0100 GMT) Tuesday, according to a statement issued Friday by NASA's Wallops Flight Facility.
The Antares launch team, stationed in a control center on the mainland a few miles away, will oversee fueling of the rocket's first stage with kerosene and liquid oxygen propellants Tuesday afternoon and evening.
Held to the launch pad by restraints, the rocket's first stage will fire for 29 seconds, ramping up to 680,000 pounds of thrust. NASA says test will likely be visible and audible throughout the Wallops area.
The Antares rocket's AJ26 engines are provided by Aerojet, but the engines were built in Russia in the 1960s and 1970s for the Soviet Union's ill-fated N1 moon rocket. Aerojet imported the engines, called the NK-33 in Russia, in the 1990s and converted them to AJ26 engines by removing some harnessing, adding U.S. electronics, qualifying the engines for U.S. propellants, and modifying the engines to gimbal for steering.
Officials with NASA and Orbital Sciences said there will be no live webcast of the hotfire, but they plan to issue a statement and release imagery after the test.
"There is a bunch of data to look before we can say if it was successful," said Barry Beneski, an Orbital spokesperson.
NASA's Wallops Flight Facility will provide range support for the hotfire, including communications, data collection, range safety and area clearance, the base said in a statement.
Orbital Sciences moved the Antares first stage, designed by Yuzhnoye and built by Yuzhmash in Ukraine, to the launch pad in October after a series of problems with the facility's propellant handling systems forced a delay of more than one year.
Orbital blamed the issues on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, or MARS, an organization formed by the governments of Virginia and Maryland to lure launch business to Wallops. MARS owns the Antares launch pad 0A, which lies on the property of Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore.
Engineers completed "cold flow" tests in January to test the pumps, plumbing, tanks and other systems responsible for filling the rocket with liquid propellant. The Antares rocket is the first Orbital launch vehicle to use large quantities of liquid propellant.
The two-stage rocket was developed by Orbital in a public-private partnership with NASA, which is providing the Dulles, Va.-based company with up to $288 million to design, build and test the Antares launcher and the Cygnus cargo craft, which will fly to the space station.
The first Antares launch, scheduled about one month after the hotfire, will not carry an operational payload. Orbital's technicians will remove the Antares first stage from the launch pad following the hotfire and roll a full-up Antares rocket out to the pad before the demonstration launch, which could occur as soon as March.
The first Cygnus spacecraft will fly on the second launch of Antares this summer on a demonstration mission to the space station.
Orbital Sciences has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA for at least eight operational resupply flights to the space station. The first such operational Antares and Cygnus mission is scheduled for the second half of 2013.

[АниКей]

Огневые испытания ракеты "Антарес" назначены на 12 февраля
19:59 09.02.2013 http://ria.ru/science/20130209/922089856.html
Если испытания пройдут успешно, то через четыре-шесть недель, в марте, состоится первый испытательный пуск ракеты. Она отправится в космос с масс-габаритным макетом корабля Cygnus, оснащенным датчиками и средствами сбора информации.


МОСКВА, 9 фев — РИА Новости. Огневые испытания ракеты "Антарес", созданной компанией Orbital Sciences для вывода на орбиту ее грузовых кораблей Cygnus, назначены на 12 февраля, сообщает интернет-издание Universe Today.
В испытании будет задействована только первая ступень ракеты, которая будет установлена на площадке 0A в Среднеатлантическом региональном космопорте (MARS) на острове Уоллопс (штат Виргиния). Два двигателя AJ26, работающие на керосине и жидком кислороде, будут включены на 29 секунд во вторник, около 18.00 по времени восточного побережья США 03.00 мск среды).
 © Фото: Orbital Sciences
Первая ступень ракеты "Антарес"
Если испытания пройдут успешно, то через четыре-шесть недель, в марте, состоится первый испытательный пуск ракеты. Она отправится в космос с масс-габаритным макетом корабля Cygnus, оснащенным датчиками и средствами сбора информации. Первый демонстрационный полет корабля Cygnus к МКС состоится в мае-июне.
Корабль Cygnus ("Лебедь"  ; )  , создаваемый компанией Orbital Sciences, сможет выводить на орбиту — в зависимости от конфигурации — груз весом от 2 до 2,7 тонны. Ракета "Антарес" (Antares ) , которая будет выводить его в космос, создавалась при участии украинского предприятия "Южмаш" с использованием разработок, опробованных на ракете "Зенит".
Orbital Sciences наряду с компанией SpaceX в 2008 году получила от НАСА контракты по доставке грузов на МКС — CRS-контракты (Commercial Resupply Services ) . При этом на долю SpaceX пришелся заказ на 12 полетов, а на долю Orbital Sciences — восемь рейсов.