OrbitalHub

Orbital dixit:

Orbital Sciences Corporation,
one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced that
its Cygnus™ cargo logistics spacecraft successfully completed its
rendezvous and approach maneuvers with the International Space Station
(ISS) and was grappled and berthed with the station by the Expedition 38
astronaut crew earlier this morning. After Cygnus was launched into orbit
by Orbital’s Antares™ rocket on Thursday, January 9 from NASA’s Wallops
Flight Facility, it completed a series of thruster firings and other
maneuvers bringing the spacecraft in close proximity to the ISS. Final
approach to the station began at about 3:00 a.m. (EST) this morning,
culminating with the station’s robotic arm grappling the spacecraft at 6:08
a.m. when it was about 30 feet (10 meters) from the ISS. Cygnus was then
guided to its berthing port on the nadir side of the ISS’ Harmony module
where its installation was completed at 8:05 a.m.

“Our first mission under the CRS contract with NASA was flawlessly executed
by our Antares and Cygnus operations team, from the picture-perfect launch
from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to the rendezvous, capture and berthing
at the space station this morning,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s
President and Chief Executive Officer. “From the men and women involved in
the design, integration and test, to those who launched the Antares and
operated the Cygnus, our whole team has performed at a very high level for
our NASA customer and I am very proud of their extraordinary efforts.”

Cygnus will remain berthed at the ISS until February 18. Cygnus is
delivering approximately 2,780 lbs. (1,260 kg.) of cargo and science
payloads to the Expedition 38 astronauts. Either later today or tomorrow,
the crew plans to open the Cygnus hatch and make initial ingress into its
cargo module. Cygnus will remain attached to the station for 37 days
before departing with approximately 2,800 lbs. (1,300 kg.) of disposable
cargo for a safe, destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

Under a $1.9 billion CRS contract with NASA, Orbital will use Antares and
Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms) of cargo to the
ISS over eight missions, including the mission currently underway, through
late 2016. For these missions, NASA will manifest a variety of essential
items based on ISS program needs, including food, clothing, crew supplies,
spare parts and equipment, and scientific experiments.

Credit: NASA / Orbital Sciences Corporation

Orbital dixit:

Orbital Sciences Corporation, one of the world’s leading space technology companies, today announced it successfully launched its Antares™ medium-class rocket carrying the first of eight Cygnus™ cargo logistics spacecraft missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The launch of Orbital’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft will culminate in rendezvous and berthing with the ISS on Sunday, January 12 at approximately 6:00 a.m. (EST). Cygnus will deliver approximately 2,780 lbs. (1,260 kg.) of cargo to the Expedition 38 astronauts and remain attached to the station until February 18 before departing with approximately 2,800 lbs. (1,300 kg.) of disposable cargo for a safe, destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean.

Lift-off of Orbital’s Antares rocket occurred today at 1:07 p.m. (EST) from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Following a 10-minute ascent, the Cygnus spacecraft was successfully deployed by the Antares upper stage and placed into its intended orbit of about 135 x 175 miles (220 X 280 km) above the Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator. Approximately 25 minutes later, Orbital’s engineering team confirmed that reliable communications had been established and that the solar arrays were fully deployed, providing the necessary electrical power to command the spacecraft.

“It was another excellent launch of Antares, and so far, our first CRS mission is off to a great start with Cygnus operating exactly as anticipated at this early stage of the mission,” said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Our team has put in a lot of hard work to get to the point of performing regular ISS cargo delivery trips for NASA. It’s an exciting day for all of us and I’m looking forward to completing this and our future CRS missions safely and successfully for our NASA customer.”

Under a $1.9 billion CRS contract with NASA, Orbital will use Antares and Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over eight missions through late 2016. For these missions, NASA will manifest a variety of essential items based on ISS program needs, including food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts and equipment, and scientific experiments.

Orbital privately developed the Antares launch vehicle to provide low-cost, reliable access to space for medium-class payloads. It is the largest and
most complex rocket the company has ever produced. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) joint research and development
initiative with NASA, Orbital also developed the Cygnus spacecraft, which is an advanced maneuvering vehicle that meets the stringent human-rated
safety requirements for ISS operations. Together, these products showcase Orbital’s ability to apply rigorous engineering approaches and commercial
business practices to significantly shorten development timelines and lower operational costs of sophisticated space systems as compared to traditional
government-run programs.”

Credit: NASA / Orbital Sciences Corporation

Read more about Antares…

December 26, 2013, launch of Proton-M/Breeze-M with Russian telecommunications satellite Express-AM5. Proton-M lifted off from Platform 81, Baikonur cosmodrome.

Credit: Roscosmos

NASA dixit:

“Expedition 38 astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins ventured outside the space station on December 21, for the first in a series of spacewalks to remove and replace a faulty coolant pump module. The pump is associated with one of the station\’s two external cooling loops, which circulate ammonia outside the station to keep both internal and external equipment cool. The previously planned mission of Orbital Sciences\’ Cygnus spacecraft has been moved to no earlier than mid-January. The postponement will allow ample time for the station crew to focus on repairing the pump module, which stopped working properly on December 11.”

Credit: NASA

ESA dixit:

“[Watch] a replay of ESA\’s billion-star surveyor Gaia lift off at 09:12UT/10:12CET [from Kourou, French Guiana] on 19 December [, 2013].”

“Animation showing Gaia launch and journey to its operating orbit. The animation begins by visualising the launch from Europe\’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on a Soyuz-STB/Fregat-MT vehicle. The rocket\’s four boosters are jettisoned 118 seconds after launch, and the spacecraft fairing is jettisoned after 220 seconds. Following two burns, the Fregat upper stage separates from Gaia 42 minutes after launch. The separation activates an automatic sequence onboard Gaia, including switching on the spacecraft\’s transmitters, pressurisation of the propulsion system, initial attitude acquisition and deployment of the sunshield. By then Gaia will be on its transfer orbit from Earth towards L2, a virtual point in space some 1.5 million kilometres \’behind\’ Earth as seen from the Sun. Gaia will take about a month to cruise and manoeuvre into a \’Lissajous\’ orbit around L2. The size of the orbit is typically 340 000 x 90 000 km and takes 180 days. There, Gaia will spin slowly in order to make systematic repeated observations of stars covering the whole sky with its two telescopes. Over its five-year mission, Gaia will monitor the positions, motions, temperatures, luminosities and compositions of a billion stars.”

Credit: ESA / CNES / Arianespace

NASA dixit:

“Billions of years ago when the Red Planet was young, it appears to have had a thick atmosphere that was warm enough to support oceans of liquid water – a critical ingredient for life. The animation shows how the surface of Mars might have appeared during this ancient clement period, beginning with a flyover of a Martian lake. The artist\’s concept is based on evidence that Mars was once very different. Rapidly moving clouds suggest the passage of time, and the shift from a warm and wet to a cold and dry climate is shown as the animation progresses. The lakes dry up, while the atmosphere gradually transitions from Earthlike blue skies to the dusty pink and tan hues seen on Mars today. “

Credit: NASA Goddard