Virgil “Gus” Grissom – Commander, Edward White – Command Pilot, Roger Chaffee – Pilot
STS-51 L (January 28, 1986)
Francis R. Scobee – Commander, Michael J. Smith – Pilot, Judith A. Resnik – Mission Specialist 1, Ellison Onizuka – Mission Specialist 2, Ronald E. McNair – Mission Specialist 3, Gregory B. Jarvis – Payload Specialist 1, Sharon Christa McAuliffe – Payload Specialist 2
STS-107 (February 1, 2003)
Rick D. Husband – Commander, William C. McCool – Pilot, Michael P. Anderson – Payload Commander, David M. Brown – Mission Specialist 1, Kalpana Chawla – Mission Specialist 2, Laurel Clark – Mission Specialist 3, Ilan Ramon – Payload Specialist 1
“The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA\’s TDRS-L satellite on board launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, on January 23. Once operational in orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, TDRS-L will work with NASA\’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System constellation to provide vital communications between ground stations and spacecraft including the International Space Station, NASA\’s Hubble Space Telescope and the agency\’s fleet of scientific observatories orbiting Earth.”
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.
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.”
December 26, 2013, launch of Proton-M/Breeze-M with Russian telecommunications satellite Express-AM5. Proton-M lifted off from Platform 81, Baikonur cosmodrome.
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