Keep the shuttle flying: Fwd: More Cygnus Launch Items

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: July 14, 2014 9:51:04 AM CDT
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: More Cygnus Launch Items

Space station-bound supply ship launched from Virginia
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
July 13, 2014
A fresh load of supplies and research experiments began a three-day journey to the International Space Station on Sunday after a successful midday launch aboard an Antares rocket from Virginia's Eastern Shore.

The Antares rocket lifts off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Photo credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

Loaded with approximately 3,300 pounds of provisions, the commercial Orbital Sciences Corp. Cygnus supply ship will complete the cargo delivery Wednesday with an automated approach to the space station.
The supplies include food for the lab's six-man crew, research experiments to learn how the human body changes in space, gear to maintain systems aboard the massive research complex, and 29 small CubeSats to be ejected from the space station's Japanese science module.
The pursuit began at 12:52 p.m. EDT (1652 GMT) with a thunderous blastoff from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The 13-story Antares booster disappeared into clouds moments later, but telemetry radioed back to the ground from the rocket showed it performed as designed, burning twin kerosene-fueled Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26 engines for nearly four minutes to rocket into the upper atmosphere.
The Antares rocket jettisoned its aerodynamic fairing before firing a second stage Castor 30B solid-fueled motor built by ATK to accelerate up to orbital velocity.
The rocket deployed the Cygnus spacecraft into orbit about 10 minutes after liftoff as the vehicles raced across the Atlantic Ocean at more than 5 miles per second.
NASA confirmed two Dutch-built solar arrays on the Cygnus spacecraft extended to begin generating electricity for the cargo ship's mission.
Controllers will oversee numerous thruster firings by the Cygnus supply ship over the next three days as the vehicle shapes its orbit to meet the International Space Station on Wednesday.
High-tech GPS and laser navigation systems will guide the Cygnus on its rendezvous, which is scheduled to culminate with capture by the space station's Canadian robotic arm at 1039 GMT (6:39 a.m. EDT).
Space station commander Steve Swanson will be at the controls of the robot arm during the approach, assisted by European Space Agency flight engineer Alexander Gerst.
The mission -- named Orb-2 -- is Orbital's second operational resupply run to the space station. The Dulles, Va.-based aerospace contractor conducted two test flights in 2013 before launching operational cargo service on the Orb-1 mission in January.

File photo of a Cygnus cargo spacecraft at the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA

"Every flight is critical," said Frank Culbertson, executive vice president of Orbital's advanced programs group and a former space shuttle and space station commander. "We carry a variety of types of cargo on-board, which includes food and basic supplies for the crew, and also the research."
Sunday's launch was delayed from early May after a bottleneck in the space station's busy manifest of visiting cargo and crew vehicles. Orbital announced further delays as engineers ensured the AJ26 powerplants on the Antares rocket were free of the defect that caused a major engine mishap on a test stand in Mississippi.
Ground crews fell behind in launch preparations last week due to severe weather at the Virginia launch site, forcing another slip.
"It took a lot effort for people to pull this off," Culbertson said.
Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to cover eight logistics missions through 2016. NASA has a similar contract with SpaceX, which takes up cargo with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, then returns experiment samples to Earth.
Both companies are contracted to haul 20 metric tons, or about 44,000 pounds, of cargo to the space station.
The U.S.-owned Cygnus and Dragon resupply vehicles, along with Russia's Progress, the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle and Japan's H-2 Transfer Vehicle, make up the space station's life line with Earth to get critical hardware, life-support commodities, and food to the complex orbiting more than 250 miles up.
"They really can't afford to get behind on any of that with six people up there, and if we're going to keep six people on the station, we need a routine and regular delivery of cargo, and that's what we're trying to establish with this service," Culbertson said before Sunday's launch.
Supplies packed inside the Cygnus spacecraft's pressurized cargo module, built in Italy by Thales Alenia Space, include more than a half-ton of food, a pump for the Japanese laboratory, and a hardware kit to prepare for future spacewalks to install a new nitrogen and oxygen system outside the space station's airlock.
"You've got to resupply the crew, you've got to keep the research flowing up to them, and you've got to have reliable return of some of the research samples," said Dan Hartman, NASA's deputy space station program manager. "There's a lot of system maturation that we need to do that we're testing on the International Space Station if we're going to go deeper and farther into the solar system."
NASA views the space station as the cornerstone of the agency's long-term space exploration strategy. Officials say physiological research and technology demonstrations aboard the space station are critical to making human missions to an asteroid or Mars feasible.
"The way to succeed and buy down on all that risk is to have all these vehicles -- the Cygnus, the ATV, the HTV, the SpaceX [Dragon] -- and have a consistent resupply of not only the supplies needed for the crew, but also the cutting edge technology demonstrations that we need to fly to test -- and yes, fail at times and retest -- just to have that big learning experience as we go forward."
The Cygnus mission is also carrying 29 CubeSats, including 28 shoe box-sized spacecraft for San Francisco-based Planet Labs Inc., which is in the middle of launching a fleet of 100 small satellites to observe the entire planet every 24 hours.
The satellites are part of the Planet Labs "Dove" constellation designed to collect images of Earth from orbit.
Another CubeSat built at NASA's Ames Research Center in California will test a new de-orbit system to induce drag on small objects in space, potentially leading to technologies that could enable scientists to return samples to Earth.
The Cygnus spacecraft will depart the space station around Aug. 15. Controllers will guide the cargo carrier to a destructive re-entry over the Pacific Ocean a few days later, disposing the space station's trash and other excess hardware.
"Our plan is to keep Cygnus on-board for about a month, stow it with disposable cargo, and then prepare ourselves for the next mission, which will be the ATV in late July," Hartman said.
The European ATV cargo vehicle is set for liftoff from French Guiana on an Ariane 5 rocket July 24, with docking planned Aug. 12.

© 2014 Spaceflight Now Inc.

Commercial Antares Resupply Freighter Thunders Aloft to Space Station from Virginia Packed with Science
by Ken Kremer on July 13, 2014

Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft blasts off on July 13 2014 from Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility , VA, on the Orb-2 mission and loaded with over 3000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the crew aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com
Story updated
NASA WALLOPS FLIGHT FACILITY, VA – A commercial Antares rocket carrying the private Cygnus cargo freighter thundered aloft from a beachside launch pad in Virginia today, July 13, bound for the space station and packed with a wide range of science experiments and essential supplies for the six person crew.
The flawless blastoff of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket occurred precisely as planned today at 12:52 p.m. (EDT) from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern shore of Virginia.
After a 10 minute ascent, Antares placed the Cygnus resupply spacecraft into an initial orbit of 120 x 180 miles (190 x 290 kilometers) above the Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator.
"The Antares rocket first and second stages performed flawlessly," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital's executive vice president of the advanced programs group, at a post launch briefing at NASA Wallops. Culberston was a NASA shuttle commander and also flew aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
"The solar arrays deployed as planned," Culbertson reported. The arrays provide Cygnus with life giving power to command and operate the spacecraft.
Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft blasts off on July 13 2014 from Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility , VA, on the Orb-2 mission and loaded with over 3000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the crew aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com
The Orb-2 launch was postponed about a month from June 9 to conduct a thorough re-inspection of the two Russian built and US modified Aerojet AJ26 engines that power the rocket's first stage after a test failure of a different engine on May 22 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi resulted in extensive damage.
After a nearly three day orbital chase, the Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft will rendezvous with the ISS on July 16 at approximately 6:39 a.m. (EDT).
ISS Expedition 40 crew members Commander Steve Swanson of NASA and Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, will then grapple Cygnus with the stations 57 foot long robotic arm and berth it at the Earth facing port on the Harmony module on July 16 at approximately 6:39 a.m. (EDT).
Today's liftoff marked the fourth successful launch of the 132 foot tall Antares in the past Antares in the past 15 months, Culbertson noted.
The first Antares was launched from NASA Wallops in April 2013. And the Orb-2 mission also marks the third deployment of Cygnus in less than a year.
Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft blasts off on July 13 2014 from Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility , VA, on the Orb-2 mission and loaded with over 3000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com
The Antares/Cygnus Orbital-2 (Orb-2) mission is the second of eight cargo resupply missions to the ISS under Orbital's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA.
The pressurized Cygnus cargo freighter will deliver 1,657 kg (3653 lbs) of cargo to the ISS Expedition 40 crew including over 700 pounds (300 kg) of science experiments and instruments, crew supplies, food, water, computer equipment, spacewalk tools and student research experiments.
Antares zooms to orbit after launch on July 13 2014 from Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility , VA, on the Orb-2 mission and loaded with over 3000 pounds of science experiments and supplies for the Expedition 40 crew aboard the International Space Station. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com
The wide ranging science cargo and experiments includes a flock of nanosatellites and deployers, student science experiments and small cubesat prototypes that may one day fly to Mars.
The Flock 1B group of 28 nanosatellites from Planet Labs of San Francisco are aboard to take pictures of Earth that will be combined into a mosaic view of nearly the entire Earth.
They will be deployed into orbit from the Japanese JEM module.
TechEdSat-4 is a small cubesat built by NASA's Ames Research Center in California that will investigate technology to return small samples to Earth from the space station. Researchers hope to send a future variant to Mars by 2018 or 2020, the team told Universe Today.
15 student experiments on the "Charlie Brown" mission are aboard and hosted by the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, an initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and NanoRacks.
They will investigate plant, lettuce, raddish and mold growth and seed germination in zero-G, penecilium growth, corrosion inhibitors, oxidation in space and microencapsulation experiments.
Cygnus will remain attached to the station approximately 30 days until about August 15.
For the destructive and fiery return to Earth, Cygnus will be loaded with approximately 1,340 kg (2950 lbs) of trash for disposal upon atmospheric reentry over the Pacific Ocean approximately five days later.
Orbital Sciences was awarded a $1.9 Billion supply contract by NASA to deliver 20,000 kilograms of research experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and hardware for 8 flight to the ISS through 2016 under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) initiative.
The Orb-2 mission launch today marks the second operational Antares/Cygnus flight.
The two stage Antares rocket stands 132 feet tall. It takes about 10 minutes from launch until separation of Cygnus from the Antares vehicle.
SpaceX has a similar resupply contract using their Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon cargo carrier and just completed their 3rd operational mission to the ISS in May.
Watch for Ken's continuing onsite Antares Orb-2 mission reports from NASA Wallops, VA.
Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft await launch on Orb 2 mission on July 13, 2014 from Launch Pad 0A at NASA Wallops Flight Facility Facility, VA. LADEE lunar mission launch pad 0B stands adjacent to right of Antares. Credit: Ken Kremer – kenkremer.com
Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing ISS, OCO-2, GPM, Curiosity, Opportunity, Orion, SpaceX, Boeing, Orbital Sciences, MAVEN, MOM, Mars and more Earth & Planetary science and human spaceflight news.
Ken Kremer

SS Janice Voss takes flight: Station-bound spaceship a 'fitting tribute' to astronaut
An Antares rocket lifts off from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia with the SpaceShip (SS) Janice Voss, the third of Orbital Sciences' space station-bound cargo freighters. (collectSPACE)
July 13, 2014 — Astronaut Janice Voss never flew to the International Space Station. But in her memory, her name is making the trip on a spacecraft christened in her honor.

Orbital Sciences launched the SpaceShip Janice Voss on Sunday afternoon (July 13) from a pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The unmanned cargo freighter is set to arrive at the space station on Wednesday.

"Janice was a friend of many of us, both in the Orbital and NASA communities," said Frank Culbertson, Orbital's vice president and a former NASA astronaut, about Voss, who worked for Orbital as an engineer before flying five times as a NASA space shuttle mission specialist. "We wanted to honor her and her family by naming this spacecraft for [her]. We think it is a fitting tribute to a really fine engineer and outstanding astronaut."

Voss died in February 2012, succumbing to breast cancer at the age of 55.

The SS Janice Voss is Orbital's second of eight Cygnus cargo ships to fly under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to resupply the space station. It is delivering 3,669 pounds (1,664 kilograms) of experiments, support equipment and crew provisions, including 60 containers of food to restock the station's pantry.
The SpaceShip Janice Voss is seen being readied for its launch to the International Space Station, July 8, 2014. (Orbital Sciences)
"We carry a variety of cargo aboard, which includes food and basic supplies for the crew, and also the research," Culbertson told collectSPACE. "If we're going to keep six people up there [on the space station], we need a routine of regular delivery of cargo and that is what we're trying to establish with this service."

The 12:52 p.m. EDT (1752 GMT) launch of the SS Janice Voss came on the 5,001st day the space station had been continuously crewed. The Cygnus ship flew atop Orbital's two-stage Antares rocket from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at Wallops.

The Antares soared smoothly into the summer hazy skies over Virginia, powered by two engines originally built for the Soviet Union's failed moon rocket, the N1 booster. The mission, referred to as Orb-2, had experienced a number of delays for several reasons, the latest being the failure of one of the U.S.-modified Russian-legacy engines during a separate test firing.

"It has been a little bit of a challenge to get to this point, there have been a number of issues," Culbertson stated. "We started back in May with an anticipated launch date, which moved because of issues with other launch ranges and launch vehicles. We then moved into June and had to delay to work some technical issues."
The Orb-2 mission emblem includes a gold astronaut insignia (on the Earth) in honor of the late Janice Voss. (Orbital Sciences)
Now in orbit, the Janice Voss will spend the next several days catching up the space station before arriving in the vicinity of the sprawling complex on Wednesday morning. There, the freighter will be captured by commander Steve Swanson with the assistance of flight engineer Alexander Gerst using the station's robotic arm and then attached to the Earth-facing port on the outpost's Harmony module.

The Cygnus is expected to stay berthed to the station for about a month, while the astronauts and cosmonauts work to unpack its supplies and then repack it with refuse and spent equipment to be destroyed upon its fiery reentry into the Earth's atmosphere.

In addition to the provisions for the crew, the cargo ship is also delivering 32 CubeSat small satellites to be deployed out of the station's Japanese airlock and a host of student research as part of "Charlie Brown," an educational effort named for the Apollo 10 spacecraft that helped to set the stage for the first moon landing 45 years ago.
NASA portrait of Janice Voss, the namesake for Orbital's second contracted Cygnus space station resupply spacecraft. (NASA)
The arrival of the Janice Voss will mark the third time an Orbital spacecraft has been at the station. In September 2013, the company launched its first Cygnus, the SS G. David Low, on a successful demo to the outpost. Orbital's first contracted mission, completed by the SS C. Gordon Fullerton, followed in January of this year.

Like the Janice Voss, both previous ships were named for NASA astronauts who either worked for or helped support Orbital's activities. Each spaceship has carried a photo of its namesake to later be returned to Earth for display.

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