Orbital Cygnus

[Salo]

Анимашка:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=150511441

[Salo]

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

Three Cygnus Service Modules in Dulles

December  2012

As the year draws to a close there are now three substantially complete Cygnus Service Modules in Orbital's Dulles, Virginia Satellite Manufacturing Facility (see photo below).  In addition to the integration and testing of the spacecraft, the program has achieved a number of key milestones in the last few months:



Mission Operations to Spacecraft Testing:  The Orbital team successfully completed the first test of the Mission Operations to Spacecraft link. The COTS demo service module was attached via data and command lines to Orbital's Mission Operations Center in Dulles, Virginia, and the mission timeline from launch to berthing was exercised by the Cygnus team.  This test required the team to operate in shifts, flying the spacecraft continuously for approximately 80 hours to simulate all required maneuvers to achieve ISS berthing, successfully executing all required procedures.

Safety Review:  In addition, the Cygnus engineering and safety teams successfully completed the presentation of our final safety hazard assessment to the ISS Safety Review Panel, including design and operational controls to mitigate hazards to the Space Station or its Crew.

Joint Avionics Software Validation Testing: At the Johnson Space Center (JSC) Orbital connected its Cygnus "Flatsat" to a ISS "Flatsat" platform to validate the avionics that comprise the spacecraft and the Cygnus ground control system. Joint Test 4 (JT4) validated Cygnus interfaces to the ISS successfully demonstrating its ability to send commands and receive telemetry. Cygnus flight software also demonstrated nominal and off-nominal approaches, nominal departures, aborts, and a wide variety of responses to faults.

Joint Test 5, also known as the End-to-End-Test, used the same test configuration and included mission control centers in Houston, Texas, Dulles, Virginia, and Tskuba, Japan to validate the ability of the distributed ground control system to properly operate ISS and Cygnus. The team passed all test cases on the first pass with no issues.

[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.

[Salo]

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=21179.msg1000356#msg1000356

antonioe пишет:

Here's another picture of the three Cygnus Service Modules practically complete... the one on the right is, quite literaly, gathering cobwebs... (well, at least FIGURATIVELY...)

[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

[Salo]

[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
  

[KBOB]

Странный у них стартовый комплекс
http://ut-images.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Antares_Wallops_Virginia_high.jpg

[Salo]

Что именно Вы называете странным?

[Космос-3794]

NASA планирует использовать  Cygnus в испытаниях гиперзвукового аэродинамического надувного тормозного щита - High Energy Atmospheric Reentry Test (HEART) project.

Видео -  http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/game_changing_development/HIAD/HEART-Desig-Concept.html

Описание проекта -  http://websites.isae.fr/sites/websites/IMG/pdf/20120619-heart_update_v02_fmc.pdf

[Salo]

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2013/03/08/a-closer-look-at-orbitals-antares-rocket-and-cygnus-freighter/#more-47806

A Closer Look at Orbital's Antares Rocket and Cygnus Freighter
Posted by Doug Messier
on March 8, 2013, at 12:37 am


Antares on the launch pad on Wallops Island. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

By Douglas Messier
Parabolic Arc Managing Editor

With the first launch of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket set for about a month from now, I thought this would be a good opportunity to take a closer look about both the launch vehicle and the Cygnus freighter that will carry cargo to the International Space Station later this year.

The medium-lift Antares rocket is an international collaboration. Orbital is the prime integrator and has overall responsibility for systems engineering, avionics, primary structure, testing and software. It also has responsibility for the first stage development and integration.


Antares rocket. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

KB Yuzhnoye and PO Yuzhmash of Ukraine are providing the first stage propellant tanks and associated pressurization system. The technology is based on Zenit launch vehicle. The first stage includes two Aerojet AJ-26 engines, which are updated NK-33 motors manufactured by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau for the Soviet Union's manned lunar program.

The second stage incorporates Castor solid stage motors produced by ATK in the United States. Ruag of Switzerland is providing the payload separation system.

The rocket is designed to lift more than 5,000 kg. into low Earth orbit. The first Antares launches will be from Wallops Island in Virginia, but the rocket is also compatible with launch facilities at Cape Canaveral in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska.

The Cygnus spacecraft is composed of two elements with spaceflight heritage. The Service Module incorporates avionics systems from Orbital's LEOStar and GEOStar satellite product lines as well as propulsion and power systems from the company's GEOStar communications satellites.


Cygnus module. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

The Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) is being produced by Thales Alenia Space in Torino, Italy. The PCM is based upon Thale's Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules, which space shuttles carried to the International Space Station (ISS) filled with supplies. One of the MPLMs was refitted and permanently docked to ISS.

Other non-U.S. suppliers include Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (MELCO) of Tokyo for the Proximity Location System and Dutch Space of the Netherlands for its solar arrays. Draper laboratory, Odyssey Space Research, JAMSS America, and Vivace are also partners on the Cygnus vehicle.

Orbital will fly the inaugural Antares mission without a Cygnus freighter. If that goes well, the flight will be followed by a Cygnus demonstration mission carry some token cargo that to ISS. Both of those flights will be under the NASA-funded Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

Once those two flights are successfully completed, Orbital will begin a series of eight cargo runs to the station under the space agency's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. NASA will pay about $1.9 billion for the flights.


Cygnus standard and enhanced Pressurized Cargo Modules. (Credit: Orbital Sciences Corporation)

The initial deliveries will feature a standard cargo module with an interior volume of 18.9 cubic meters that will be capable of delivering 2,000 kg of cargo to ISS. Missions four through eight will feature an enhanced cargo module with a volume of 27 cubic meters and improved solar panels that will deliver up to 2,700 kg to the orbiting facility. In all, Orbital is contracted to deliver 20,000 kg to the station.

[frigate]

Aerospace Daily & Defence Report, APRIL12, 2013
Orbital Sciences Sees Cygnus As Hosted Payload Platform

COLORADO SPRINGS — Orbital Sciences Corp. believes it can sell space on the commercial cargo vehicle it has developed with NASA seed money as an orbiting laboratory once it is unloaded and unberthed from the International Space Station.
The Orbital Sciences Antares medium-lift launch vehicle set for its inaugural flight next week won't carry the Cygnus capsule developed to deliver cargo to the ISS, but the instrumented mass simulator it is set to place in orbit will remain there for several months before re-entering the atmosphere.
So will future full-up Cygnus vehicles, which will be outfitted to support both the cargo they carry for the space station and any hosted payloads Orbital can find. The company already has a contract with NASA's Glenn Research Center to conduct a combustion experiment on an emptied Cygnus once Orbital begins flying out its $1.9 billion, eight-mission Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.
"We expect we will have a pretty sophisticated spacecraft that can operate on orbit for upward of a year," said Michael Hamel, Orbital's senior vice president for corporate strategy and development. "Now, this becomes a very interesting platform for being able to provide routine spaceflight opportunities for various technology and operational demonstrations, so we're actively looking at down-the-road missions with CRS becoming a hosted payload platform."
The Glenn experiment will study how fires can propagate and be extinguished in a spacecraft, on a scale that would be unsafe to attempt on an occupied vehicle. In the future,
Hamel said Orbital hopes to use the Cygnus to create a market once filled by the Get Away Special (GAS) canisters in the space shuttle payload bay.
The so-called GAS cans carried a variety of stand-alone space experiments that were jettisoned once the payload bay doors were opened, giving researchers a way to expose experiments to the space environment. Potential customers for Cygnus payload space include civilian and military government agencies and commercial researchers.
The Cygnus/Antares stack will fly two or three missions a year to the ISS. Initially it will be able to deliver 2,000 kg (4,400 lb.) of cargo to the station, a capability that will grow to 2,700 kg after planned improvements in the spacecraft and launcher after the third CRS flight.
Unlike the SpaceX Dragon capsule, which was also developed with Commercial Orbital Transportation Services seed money from NASA, the Orbital vehicle does not carry thermal protection for re-entry, and is not designed to eventually accommodate humans. Instead, Hamel said during the National Space Symposium here, itis "optimized for cargo," and so can fulfill its 20,000-metric-ton delivery requirement in eight flights instead of the 12 it will take the Dragon.
"We can take about 50% more cargo than the Dragon," he said.

Frank Morring, Jr. (morring@aviationweek.com)

[ronatu]

Ставки принимаются?
Запустят?
Не запустят?
Мой счет: 20%(запустят) - 80%(не запустят)

[SFN]

-----

[Lanista]

Запустят, и все будет ок.

[Salo]

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

Cygnus Integration Begins at Wallops Flight Facility

April 2013

Orbital has unpacked the Cygnus Service Module (SM) (pictured in the foreground below) from its transfer trailer and has begun launch site integration testing following its journey from Orbital's Satellite Manufacturing Facility in Dulles VA. The Cygnus SM and its Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM)(background) are now both located in Building H-100 at the Wallops Flight Facility. Orbital is planning to mate the cargo-loaded PCM to the SM early in the week of April 1st.



COTS Demo Cygnus Spacecraft Mated at Wallops

April 2013

The COTS Demonstration Cygnus spacecraft completed a significant milestone on Tuesday, April 2, when its Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) was attached to the Service Module (SM), and all mechanical flight connections were attached. The PCM was recently loaded with cargo, and was reoriented from the horizontal to the vertical to facilitate the attachment. The vertically oriented PCM was then lifted and precisely relocated over the SM by Orbital engineers and technicians.
After connecting electrical harnesses, the now completed Cygnus will perform a final set of tests to ensure proper functioning of the combined PCM/SM systems. After completion of the testing, the Cygnus will be prepared for transportation to the fueling facility.

[SFN]

[Salo]

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=862

Orbital's Cygnus Spacecraft Sel ected by NASA to Host Experimental Fire Safety Payload
-- Saffire Experiments Will Test Flammability of Various Materials in Low-Gravity Environments --

(Dulles, VA 08 August 2013) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world's leading space technology companies, today announced it has been sel ected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to host a scientific payload that will improve spacecraft fire safety for future space exploration vehicles. Known as the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire), the payload will be hosted aboard Orbital's Cygnus™ advanced maneuvering spacecraft and is planned for flight by mid-2015.

"While the primary mission of Cygnus is to deliver cargo to the International Space Station (ISS), Saffire will demonstrate the ability of Cygnus to provide important secondary mission capabilities, including as a platform to conduct a wide variety of experiments and demonstrations beneficial to the scientific and engineering community," said Mr. Frank DeMauro, Orbital's Cygnus Program Manager.

"After completing its cargo delivery mission, Cygnus has the capability of remaining in space for months at a time and provide substantial power, data and propulsion support to hosted payloads," DeMauro added. "This affords researchers ample time to conduct experiments in a real-world space environment at an affordable cost, a very attractive feature for scientists looking to conduct short- to medium-duration research and for space industry communities developing flight heritage data for materials and systems."

The self-contained Saffire payload, built by NASA's Glenn Research Center (GRC), will test the flammability of large samples of various types of materials in low-gravity environments. It will be integrated into Cygnus' Pressurized Cargo Module and remain in place throughout the duration of the cargo delivery mission.

Orbital is currently under contract for one mission, but NASA is preparing three flight systems, Saffire I, II and III, each dedicated to a separate Saffire Cygnus mission. Saffire I will test one fabric sample, while Saffire II will test 10 fabric samples and Saffire III will test a hybrid of the Saffire I and II samples.

"Currently, most flammability data for materials in microgravity is obtained during short-duration, drop-tower tests with small sample sizes," said Mr. Carl Walz, Orbital's Vice President for Human Spaceflight and a former NASA astronaut. "There is very little data on large-scale material flammability in low-gravity environments. Gathering this type of data will enable NASA to enhance safe operations of new space vehicles that are being designed for long-duration travel to the Moon, asteroids and other destinations."

"The Cygnus design has been modified to provide a standard interface capability for future internally and externally hosted payloads, similar to the system we have used for hosted payloads on our commercial communications satellites. This will provide low-cost, short-lead time and regular spaceflight opportunities for a variety of future government and commercial hosted payloads," said DeMauro.
 
About Cygnus
Orbital developed Cygnus as part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) joint research and development initiative with NASA. Beginning later this year, Orbital will conduct eight Cygnus missions to deliver approximately 20,000 kilograms of cargo to the ISS, including crew supplies, spare parts and equipment, and scientific experiments. Each Cygnus will launch aboard an Antares rocket fr om the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, VA.

A low-risk design spacecraft, Cygnus consists of a common Service Module (SM) and a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM). The SM incorporates avionics, power and propulsion systems already successfully flown aboard Orbital's LEOStar™ and GEOStar™ satellite product lines. The PCM, designed and built by Thales Alenia Space under a subcontract fr om Orbital, is based on the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM). For more information on Cygnus, click here.

About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com .

[asmi]

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