OrbitalHub

NASA dixit:

“On April 22, hours arriving at the International Space Station, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus resupply ship was captured by Expedition 51 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency and Commander Peggy Whitson of NASA using the Canadarm2 robotic arm. Later, Cygnus was installed to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module where it will reside for the next three months. Cygnus is packed with 7,600 pounds of supplies and research for the crew aboard the orbiting laboratory.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“Loaded with more than 2.5 tons of supplies and science experiments, Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo craft arrived at the International Space Station Oct. 23 following its launch on a refurbished Antares rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia Oct. 17. Expedition 49 crewmembers Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kate Rubins of NASA captured Cygnus using the station’s Canadian-built robotic arm. Ground controllers then maneuvered Cygnus to the Earth-facing port of the Unity module where it was installed and bolted into place for a month-long stay.”

From CASIS press release:

“The most recent series of payloads berthed with the International Space Station (ISS) Sunday morning onboard the Orbital ATK Cygnus capsule. Many of the investigations launched from Wallops Island, VA onboard the Antares rocket are sponsored by the ISS U.S. National Laboratory. The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) is tasked by NASA with managing and promoting research onboard the ISS National Laboratory for the benefit of Earth. Below provides a summary of the ISS National Laboratory-sponsored payloads delivered today:

CONTROLLED DYNAMICS LOCKER FOR MICROGRAVITY EXPERIMENTS ON ISS

Controlled Dynamics

Principal Investigator: Dr. Scott Green

Dr. Green and his team have developed a hardware platform that will provide research payloads with a “controlled dynamic acceleration environment”—in other words, a technology that will dampen fluctuations/disturbances in the microgravity environment that occur onboard moving spacecraft. This technology promises to attract a new class of research experiments and private funding aimed at exploiting this controlled acceleration environment in microgravity, which has the potential to improve space experiments in crystallization; fluid physics; cell, tissue, and plant culturing; and other studies that require precise control of motion. This investigation stems from a CASIS grant supporting enabling technology development onboard the ISS National Lab.

NANORACKS BLACK BOX

NanoRacks, LLC

Principal Investigator: Mary Murphy

NanoRacks Black Box is a key part of NanoRacks’ next-generation ISS platforms. This new hardware is specially designed to provide near-launch payload turnover of autonomous payloads while providing advanced science capabilities for customers, including the use of robotics, new automated MixStix, and NanoLab-style research. OA-5 provides the first technology demonstration mission to test the NanoRacks Black Box platform, NanoRacks’ own payload hardware, and customer technology demonstration experiments. Technology demonstration payloads onboard OA-5 include multiple education-focused experiments, one of which features a partnership between Valley Christian High School in California and Microsoft, in which students will leverage the Microsoft Windows 10 IoT (internet of things) platform to run experiments on a cell phone motor to test the behaviors of different metals and materials in microgravity environments with status and magnetic forces.

NANORACKS EXTERNAL DEPLOYER

NanoRacks, LLC

Principal Investigators: Conor Brown and Henry Martin

NanoRacks provides opportunities for CubeSat deployment from Cygnus after the vehicle departs from the ISS. The NanoRacks deployer is installed on the exterior of the Cygnus service module, and after completion of its primary ISS resupply mission, Cygnus is intended to move into a higher orbit, and then deploy small satellites. Four satellites are part of the OA-5 mission intended to launch from Cygnus in partnership with the space-based data company, Spire. Spire’s solutions offer organizations near-real-time insights into weather and climate, shipping and supply chain, and maritime domain awareness. Ships carry 90% of global trade over the oceans, but the ships and those that rely on them are open to risks caused by delays, piracy, poor data for search and rescue operations, and incomplete data sets. The ship tracking payload reduces those risks by relaying critical metadata about oceangoing vessels to a network of ground stations. The weather observation payload gathers incredibly accurate temperature, pressure, and humidity data by recording and processing signals from GPS satellites as they “bend” through the Earth’s atmosphere. The data is fed into weather models, where it provides large improvements to short- and medium-term forecasts. This mission will incrementally increase Spire’s satellite constellation, providing additional coverage from a mid-inclination orbit.

SOLIDIFICATION USING A BAFFLE IN SEALED AMPOULES (SUBSA) FURNACE

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Material melt-growth experiments have been difficult to run in the space environment because there is just enough residual micro-acceleration (g-jitter) to produce natural convection that interferes with the structure and purity of the material. This convection is responsible for the lack of reliable and reproducible solidification data and, thus, for gaps in solidification theory. The Solidification Using a Baffle in Sealed Ampoules (SUBSA) experiment tested an automatically moving baffle (driven by melt expansion during freezing) that was designed to reduce thermal convection inside an ampoule to determine whether the baffle significantly reduces convection. Ground studies showed that the baffle reduces the movement of the material during its liquid phase, making the process easier to analyze and allowing more homogenous crystals to form. The key goal of SUBSA was to clarify the origin of the melt convection in space and to reduce the magnitude to the point that it does not interfere with the transport phenomena. This mission will provide updates to the hardware onboard the ISS to include modifications to the furnace and inserts to ensure future investigations run nominally.”

Video credit: NASA

NASA dixit:

“At the International Space Station, Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra used the Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the Orbital/ATK Cygnus cargo craft June 14, just hours after it was detached from the station. The spacecraft is loaded with trash and other unneeded items. Cygnus is also serving as a platform for an investigation called the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (SAFFIRE), that will deliberately ignite a fire in an enclosed environment so that instruments can measure flame growth and oxygen usage. This experiment is designed to improve the understanding of fire growth in microgravity and to safeguard future space missions. A group of nanosatellites is also being released from Cygnus which will be deorbited June 22 to send the craft into a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean. Cygnus was launched from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida atop an Atlas V rocket March 23, arriving at the station March 26 to deliver tons of experiments and supplies for the station’s residents.”

Video credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA dixit:

“On Dec.6, Orbital ATK’s enhanced Cygnus spacecraft launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to the International Space Station, on a mission to deliver more than 7,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory. This is Orbital ATK’s fourth contracted mission to the station under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract.”

From Orbital ATK news release:

“Orbital ATK has named the OA-4 Cygnus the “S.S. Deke Slayton II,” upholding the tradition of naming each Cygnus in honor of astronauts and individuals who contributed to the United States’ commercial space program.

“With the naming of this spacecraft, we continue our commitment to honor the late Donald ‘Deke’ K. Slayton, one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts and a champion of America’s commercial space program and leadership in space,” said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group. “We are pleased that the enhanced Cygnus that bears his name will be able to provide up to 53 percent more in cargo weight to the International Space Station than our previously flown standard version.”

Cygnus, like most Orbital ATK spacecraft, is compatible with multiple launch vehicles, enabling the use of ULA’s Atlas V launch vehicle on this mission. The enhanced Cygnus has several new features, including lightweight UltraFlexTM solar arrays, a mass optimized Service Module structure and a lighter weight propulsion system. In addition to food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts and equipment, the Cygnus spacecraft is carrying science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 45 and 46 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory.

Orbital ATK has three CRS missions scheduled in 2016 to support NASA’s ISS cargo needs. A second Cygnus/Atlas V launch will take place next spring from Florida, followed by the return of operations to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in mid-2016 where the company will continue CRS missions atop the upgraded Antares rocket.

Under the CRS contract with NASA, Orbital ATK will deliver approximately 62,000 pounds (28,000 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over 10 missions through 2018. The partnership is changing the way NASA does business, helping build a strong American commercial space industry and freeing the agency to focus on developing the next-generation rocket and spacecraft that will enable humans to travel farther in space than ever before.”

Video credit: NASA/Orbital ATK

Orbital Sciences Corporation has announced that Atlas V will be the launch vehicle that will help the company fulfill its Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) commitment to NASA. Orbital’s Antares will undergo an upgrade of the main propulsion system.

From the December 9, 2014 press release:

“Orbital Sciences Corporation […] today announced new details in its plans to resume cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS) and to accelerate the introduction of an upgraded Antares launch vehicle. In formulating its go-forward plans, the company’s primary objective is to fulfill its commitment to NASA for ISS cargo deliveries with high levels of safety and reliability and minimum disruption to schedules. As previously announced, these plans are expected to allow Orbital to accomplish all remaining cargo deliveries under its current Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA by the end of 2016 and with no cost increase to the space agency.

The company’s go-forward plans for the CRS program and Antares launch vehicle include these major elements:

Atlas V Launch: Orbital has contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in the fourth quarter of 2015, with an option for a second Atlas V launch in 2016 if needed. The Atlas rocket’s greater lift capacity will allow Cygnus to carry nearly 35% more cargo to the ISS than previously planned for CRS missions in 2015.

Antares Propulsion Upgrade: The company has confirmed its ability to accelerate the introduction of a new main propulsion system for the Antares rocket and has scheduled three additional CRS launches in the first, second and fourth quarters of 2016 using the upgraded vehicle. The greater payload performance of the upgraded Antares will permit Cygnus spacecraft on each of these missions to deliver over 20% more cargo than in prior plans. With necessary supplier contracts now in place, the first new propulsion systems are expected to arrive at the Antares final assembly facility at Wallops Island, Virginia in mid-2015 to begin vehicle integration and testing.

Wallops Launch Site Repairs: The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) has assessed the clean-up, repair and reconstruction work necessary to return the Wallops launch complex to operational status. Current plans call for repairs to be substantially completed by the fall of 2015, with recertification taking place before year end.

The flexibility of Orbital’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to accommodate heavier cargo loads, together with the greater lift capacity of the Atlas V and upgraded Antares vehicles, will allow the company to complete all currently contracted ISS deliveries in four missions instead of the five previously planned flights over the next two years. In addition, the company’s revised approach is not expected to create any material adverse financial impacts in 2015 or future years as Orbital carries out the CRS cargo delivery and Antares propulsion upgrade programs.”

Orbital’s statement regarding the ORB-3 launch mishap:

(Dulles, VA 28 October 2014) – Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world’s leading space technology companies, confirms that today’s Antares rocket launch from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility was not successful. Shortly after lift-off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad 0A at 6:22 p.m. (EDT), the vehicle suffered a catastrophic failure. According to NASA’s emergency operations officials, there were no casualties and property damage was limited to the south end of Wallops Island. Orbital has formed an anomaly investigation board, which will work in close coordination with all appropriate government agencies, to determine the cause of today’s mishap.

“It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group. “As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations. We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.”

Orbital will provide more information as it becomes available and is verified.

Orbital’s update on October 29:

Early this morning, range officials performed an aerial survey of the launch facilities and surrounding areas at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility where yesterday’s failure of the Antares rocket occurred after it lifted off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A. Shortly after, a team of representatives from NASA, MARS and Orbital entered the launch site to perform a preliminary assessment of the launch complex and related facilities. The overall findings indicate the major elements of the launch complex infrastructure, such as the pad and fuel tanks, avoided serious damage, although some repairs will be necessary. However, until the facility is inspected in greater detail in the coming days, the full extent of necessary repairs or how long they will take to accomplish will not be known.

NASA has posted aerial views of the launch pad taken earlier today here.

Also today, Orbital made progress forming a permanent Accident Investigation Board (AIB) comprised of company officials, along with representatives from NASA and the NTSB, with the FAA providing overall oversight of the process. Initially, Mr. Rich Straka, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Manager of Orbital’s Launch Systems Group, served as the interim chairman to begin the investigation process immediately after the launch mishap. Today, Orbital appointed Mr. Dave Steffy, Senior Vice President and Chief Engineer of the company’s Advanced Programs Group, a highly experienced engineer well-versed in launch vehicle engineering and operations, to serve as the permanent chairman of the AIB.

No follow-on press conferences are planned at this time. Further updates on the situation and the progress of the ongoing investigation will be provided as they are available.

Orbital’s update on October 30:

Launch Site Status:

Based on initial sweeps conducted by an Orbital safety team, it appears a significant amount of debris remains on the site and it is likely substantial hardware evidence will be available to aid in determining root cause of the Antares launch failure. Some of the Cygnus cargo has also been found and will be retrieved as soon as we have clearance to do so to see if any survived intact. After up close visual inspections by the safety team, it still appears the launch site itself avoided major damage. There is some evidence of damage to piping that runs between the fuel and commodity storage vessels and the launch mount, but no evidence of significant damage to either the storage vessels or launch mount. Detailed evaluations by MARS and their engineering team will occur in the next couple of days. An Orbital-led team has begun cataloging and documenting the location of all pieces of debris over the next several days after which the debris will be relocated to storage bays on the island for further evaluation.

Antares Data Review:

Telemetry data has been released to Orbital and our engineers presented a very quick look assessment to the Accident Investigation Board at the end of the day. It appears the Antares vehicle had a nominal pre-launch and launch sequence with no issues noted. All systems appeared to be performing nominally until approximately T+15 seconds at which point the failure occurred. Evidence suggests the failure initiated in the first stage after which the vehicle lost its propulsive capability and fell back to the ground impacting near, but not on, the launch pad. Prior to impacting the ground, the rocket’s Flight Termination System was engaged by the designated official in the Wallops Range Control Center.

Orbital’s update on November 3:

Over the weekend, Orbital confirmed the participation of the following individuals who will serve on the Antares launch failure Accident Investigation Board (AIB), which is being led by Orbital under the oversight of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The composition of the AIB is as follows:

Chairman: David Steffy, Chief Engineer of Orbital’s Advanced Programs Group.

Members: David Swanson, Senior Director of Safety and Mission Assurance for Orbital’s Technical Operations organization; Wayne Hale, Independent Consultant and Former NASA Space Shuttle Program Manager; David Cooper, Member of Orbital’s Independent Readiness Review Team for the company’s Launch Systems Group; Eric Wood, Director of Propulsion Engineering for Orbital’s Launch Systems Group; Tom Costello, Launch Vehicle Assessment Manager in the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center; Matt Lacey, Senior Vehicle Systems Engineer for NASA’s Launch Services Program.

FAA Oversight Team: Michael S. Kelly, Chief Engineer, FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation; Marcus Ward, Mishap Response Coordinator, FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation.

Antares Data Review:

The AIB is initially focused on developing a “fault tree” and a timeline of the important events during the launch sequence. Due to the large amount of data available, the AIB is able to work with a rich source of information about the launch. One of the initial tasks for the AIB is to reconcile the data from multiple sources, a process that is now underway, to help create the launch sequence timeline.

Launch Site Status:

Over the weekend, Orbital’s Wallops-based Antares personnel continued to identify, catalogue, secure and geolocate debris found at the launch site in order to preserve physical evidence and provide a record of the launch site following the mishap that will be useful for the AIB’s analysis and determination of what caused the Antares launch failure. The debris is being taken to a NASA facility on Wallops Island for secure and weather resistant storage.