New Private Rocket Launching on Maiden Flight from Virginia Todayhttp://news.yahoo.com/private-rocket-launching-maiden-flight-virginia-today-110227177.html (http://news.yahoo.com/private-rocket-launching-maiden-flight-virginia-today-110227177.html)
By Tariq Malik and Mike Wall | SPACE.com – 4 hrs ago...(http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/New_Private_Rocket_Launching_on-3442bcf0635743b686ae85f6952e79af)
Cygnus cargo logistics spacecraft approaching the ISS.
(http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/New_Private_Rocket_Launching_on-7e6a6fdf06e5df99fbecbe953dcd50fc)
This map by Orbital Sciences Corp. shows the launch visibility possibilities for Orbital's Antares rocket on April 17, 2013. The rocket will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.
(http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/New_Private_Rocket_Launching_on-ffcff910aa98a2e0a28a53d55cc320ce)
The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in Virginia. Liftoff is set for April 17.
WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — A new private rocket called Antares is poised to blast into space for the first time today, potentially marking a giant leap forward for the emerging commercial spaceflight industry.
Antares is slated to lift off at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) Wednesday (April 17) from Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), on a test flight designed to pave the way for unmanned cargo missions to the International Space Station.
If all goes well today, two different private American spacecraft could soon be delivering supplies to the orbiting lab for NASA — a scenario the agency envisioned five years ago, when it signed billion-dollar cargo deals with SpaceX and Antares' builder, Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corp. [Antares Rocket's First Test Flight (Photos)]
"A lot of people say that the American space program is in decline," Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight development, said Tuesday (April 16) from the agency's Wallops Flight Facility, where MARS is located. "Well, you only have to go a couple of miles down the road to see it on the rise, literally."
Today's test flight will mark the biggest rocket ever to fly from Virginia's Eastern Shore and Wallops Island, which is NASA's launching ground for small sounding rockets. It could be visible from a wide swath of the U.S. East Coast, reaching as far north as Portland, Maine, and as far south as Charleston, S.C. You can watch the Antares launch webcast live here at SPACE.com, courtesy of NASA.
"This is a big event for the Eastern Shore for Wallops, and for everybody in the surrounding area and, I think, for everybody in the country," Orbital CEO and President Frank Culbertson told reporters Tuesday (April 16).
Filling the space shuttle's shoes
NASA is counting on Orbital and SpaceX to fill the cargo-carrying void left by the retirement of the agency's space shuttle fleet, which was retired in 2011 after 30 years of spaceflight.
Orbital signed a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to fly eight unmanned supply missions using Antares and a spacecraft called Cygnus under the space agency's Commercial Resupply Services program. California-based SpaceX got $1.6 billion for 12 flights with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule.
SpaceX has already flown two of these contracted missions, delivering cargo to the orbiting lab in October 2012 and then again this past March. Dragon also visited the station on a demonstration flight in May of last year.
Orbital plans to be up and running soon as well. NASA picked Orbital as one of its cargo carriers in 2008 under a separate Commercial Orbital Transportation Service program, awarding the company $288 million to help develop the Cygnus spacecraft. At the time, Orbital was developing the Antares rocket in-house and added several hundred million of its own funds for the project, company officials said. [Orbital's Antares Rocket Explained (Infographic)]
Orbital Sciences is already prepping a Cygnus for a demonstration mission to the space station, which could blast off by late June if today's Antares launch goes smoothly. The first official Cygnus cargo mission could then follow by year's end.
"It's being sent off to the fueling facility to get fueled, because the cargo's already packed," said Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski, explaining that Cygnus will carry about a half-load of cargo up to the station on the test flight.
The progress made by both SpaceX and Orbital shows that NASA's decision to rely on commercial cargo providers was a good one, Beneski added.
"I think it validates the approach that NASA has taken," he told SPACE.com. "For the government, I think this is a very good business deal on their part."
NASA also wants private American spaceships to start carrying its astronauts to and from the orbiting lab by 2017, ending its current reliance on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for this taxi service.
SpaceX is working on a manned version of Dragon in the hopes of scoring a NASA crew contract. Other major contenders are Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp., which are developing a capsule called the CST-100 and a space plane called Dream Chaser, respectively.
"I think what this shows you is that there's no one way to do spaceflight development. There's no one business case," McAlister said. "There are multiple approaches and multiple strategies and philosphies that can work. We have this competitive environment and they are free to innovate."
Antares' maiden launch
From start to finish, today's test flight will last about 18 minutes. It should take the Antares rocket, however, about 10 minutes to deploy its payload — a dummy version of the Cygnus spacecraft — after launch.
While Orbital is targeting a 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) liftoff, the company has a three-hour window in which to launch the Antares rocket. Currently, there is about a 45 percent chance of good weather at launch time. The potential for thick low clouds — NASA has a visibility requirement for the flight — and rainstorms are the only concerns. Orbital would try again on Thursday (April 18) if weather delays today's flight.
The Antares rocket is a two-stage booster that stands about 131 feet (40 meters) tall and is powered by two Aerojet AJ26 liquid-fueled engines that are modernized versions of engines originally built to launch Russia's N-1 moon rocket in the 1960s.The second stage is a solid-fueled rocket motor built by Alliant Techsystems (ATK), the same company that built the rocket boosters for NASA's space shuttles.
The rocket, Culbertson said, will appear to take its time launching off the pad before streaking spaceward on a southeastern trajectory that carries it out over the Atlantic Ocean. Since the launch will be visible from Washington, D.C., Orbital officials have provided viewing guides to members of Congress to help lawmakers see the launch, and will host an event at the company's office near the Capitol.
"'My confidence level is very high," Culbertson said. "I think we're going to see a nice show and I feel great."
The target orbit of the Antares rocket is a path that alternates between 155 miles (250 kilometers) and 188 miles (303 kilometers) above the Earth. The dummy Cygnus vehicle should stay in orbit for about two weeks before burning up in Earth's atmosphere, Culbertson said.
Before burning up, however, the Cygnus mass simulator will deploy three tiny satellites for NASA and a commercial client. The small nanosatellites include two versions of coffee cup-size Phonesats for NASA's Ames Research Center and the Dove-1 nanosatellite for a commercial customer.
Culbertson said today's launch will likely be the loudest rocket ever to blast off from Wallops Island, which is flanked by a national wildlife refuge.
"We'll try not to disturb the crabs and oysters," he said with a laugh.
New Private Rocket's Maiden Launch Set for Saturday
By Mike Wall | SPACE.com – 17 hrs ago...
The critical test flight of a new private cargo-carrying rocket will come no earlier than Saturday afternoon (April 20) due to weather delays and a technical glitch.
The private aerospace firm Orbital Sciences Corp. had aimed to fly its Antares rocket Wednesday (April 17) from Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, but a data cable separated from the booster earlier than planned, forcing officials to postpone the launch attempt just minutes before liftoff. Orbital initially considered trying again Friday (April 19) but nixed that idea because of weather concerns.
"Weather conditions deteriorate on Friday, April 19, but improve significantly over the next two days, increasing the chances for acceptable conditions at launch time," company officials said in a statement Thursday (April 18). "This also allows the Antares launch team a day of rest before back-to-back opportunities on Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21." [See photos of Orbital's Antares rocket test]
The Antares rocket is now slated to launch Saturday at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) Saturday from MARS, which is located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. Antares' launch window runs through April 29, NASA officials said.
NASA TV will provide a live broadcast of the Antares launch online beginning at 4:30 p.m. EDT (2030 GMT) if a Saturday attempt goes forward. You can watch the Antares launch webcast (http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=ApNX2F9GsrZ30hVDbdy31YSsFWFH;_ylu=X3oDMTFqaTNjbzlmBG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIEJvZHkEcG9zAzMEc2VjA01lZGlhQXJ0aWNsZUJvZHlBc3NlbWJseQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTNhOG85Njk1BGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDNDJlYTY4YmYtYTUwNy0zMjAyLWI4ZTMtZTJjMWNiYjZhMDZkBHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfHNwYWNlLWFzdHJvbm9teQRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=0/SIG=12q3ljdjs/EXP=1367673204/**http%3A//www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html) live here at SPACE.com, courtesy of NASA.
Virginia-based Orbital Sciences is counting on the 131-foot-tall (40 meters) Antares rocket to launch its Cygnus spacecraft on unmanned cargo missions to the International Space Station. The company holds a $1.9 billion deal with NASA to make eight such flights.
This test flight — which Orbital is calling A-ONE — won't carry a Cygnus, and it won't go to the space station. Rather, it will loft a Cygnus "mass simulator," a mock payload filled with sensors to mimic the weight of a real spacecraft, to orbit to demonstrate Antares' capabilities.
A-ONE will also serve as a test of Antares' launch pad at MARS, known as Pad 0A. The pad was originally built for the now-defunct Conestoga rocket in 1995 but was completely refurbished to accommodate Orbital's new booster.
If all goes well with the A-ONE flight, Antares could blast Cygnus on a demonstration mission to the space station as early as late June, Orbital officials have said.
Orbital isn't the only company with a NASA cargo contract. California-based SpaceX signed a $1.6 billion deal to make 12 robotic flights with its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. SpaceX has completed two of these contracted missions already, the first in October 2012 and the second last month.
Antares' maiden launch should put on a show for observers over a large stretch of the U.S. East Coast if clouds don't get in the way. Viewing maps released by NASA and Orbital suggest that liftoff could be visible from as far north as Portland, Maine, and as far south as Charleston, S.C.
Strong Winds Postpone New US Rocket's Launch Debuthttp://news.yahoo.com/strong-winds-postpone-us-rockets-launch-debut-205323747.html (http://news.yahoo.com/strong-winds-postpone-us-rockets-launch-debut-205323747.html)
By Tariq Malik | SPACE.com – 18 hrs ago...
The launch debut of a new privately built rocket will have to wait at least one more day after strong winds thwarted an attempted liftoff on Saturday (April 20).
The unmanned Antares rocket was poised to launch into orbit Saturday afternoon from a new seaside pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility along Virginia's Eastern Shore when the foul weather intervened. The rocket's next chance to launch occurs Sunday (April 21) at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT).
Orbital Sciences had hoped to launch Antares at 5 p.m. EDT on Saturday, but unacceptably strong winds in the upper atmosphere — which could pose a risk to the rocket in mid-flight — prompted them to delay liftoff by an hour at first, then call off the attempt altogether. [LaunchPad Photos: 1st Antares Rocket Ready to Fly]
It is the second delay in three days for Antares' debut launch. A minor equipment glitch led Orbital officials to call off a launch try on Wednesday (April 17) when a data cable at the pad separated from the rocket earlier than planned.
Built by the Dulles, Va.-based spaceflight firm Orbital Sciences Corp., the Antares rocket is a 13-story booster designed to launch the company's unmanned Cygnus spacecraft on cargo delivery missions to the International Space Station. Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract to provide at least eight cargo delivery flights to the station using Cygnus and Antares.
For this first flight, the Antares rocket will not be carrying an active Cygnus spacecraft into orbit. Instead, the rocket is topped with a cylindrical "mass simulator" that mimics the shape and weight of an actual Cygnus vehicle, officials said. The mockup is also equipped with 70 sensors to measure the effects of launch on an Antares vehicle.
Orbital has also added three tiny NASA satellites — coffee-cup-size Phonesats — and a small commercial cubesat called Dove-1 to the mass simulator for this test flight. The miniature satellites will be deployed in orbit after launch, Orbital officials said.
NASA's Phonesats are experiments designed to test how well commercial smartphones can be used as the main computers on cheap satellites.
Orbital Sciences is one of two American spaceflight companies with NASA contracts for commercial resupply missions to the International Space Station. The other firm is Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., which has a $1.6 billion contract to fly at least 12 cargo delivery missions to the space station using its Falcon 9 rockets and robotic Dragon space capsules.
SpaceX launched its first test flight to the station in May 2012 and has flown two official cargo deliveries since then. NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011 and is relying on private spacecraft to keep the space station stocked with supplies. The space agency also plans to begin flying American astronauts to the station on commercial spacecraft by 2017.
New Private Rocket Set to Launch Today After Delayshttp://news.yahoo.com/private-rocket-set-launch-today-delays-121300846.html (http://news.yahoo.com/private-rocket-set-launch-today-delays-121300846.html)
By Tariq Malik | SPACE.com – 3 hrs ago...
A U.S. spaceflight company is hoping the third time's the charm in order to launch a brand-new rocket into space on its maiden flight today (April 21).
After two delayed launched attempts, the privately built Antares rocket is once again poised to blast off from a seaside pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. Liftoff is set for 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT).
You can watch the Antares rocket launch live on SPACE.com (http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/_ylt=AkKOAZ704W_xVVfl7lyfW16RxLEF;_ylu=X3oDMTFqaWd2Ymg3BG1pdANBcnRpY2xlIEJvZHkEcG9zAzIEc2VjA01lZGlhQXJ0aWNsZUJvZHlBc3NlbWJseQ--;_ylg=X3oDMTNhcnBqb3JiBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDNmFlYjBlYmYtYWU1ZS0zZDViLWI3ODQtZTdlMDY5MjBmNmQ2BHBzdGNhdANzY2llbmNlfHNwYWNlLWFzdHJvbm9teQRwdANzdG9yeXBhZ2U-;_ylv=0/SIG=12qd3bolq/EXP=1367767237/**http%3A//www.space.com/17933-nasa-television-webcasts-live-space-tv.html) beginning 4:30 p.m. ET (2030 GMT), courtesy of NASA's webcast.
Today's launch attempt will be the third in a week for Antares, which was built by the Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp. A minor mechanical glitch thwarted a launch try on Wednesday (April 17) just minutes before liftoff. Strong winds prevented and an attempted launch on Saturday. [LaunchPad Photos: Antares Rocket Ready to Fly]
The Antares rocket is designed to launch Orbital's unmanned Cygnus spacecraft on cargo delivery missions to the International Space Station for NASA. Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract to provide at least eight cargo deliveries using Cygnus and Antares, but first the company wants to make sure the rocket will perform as expected.
"Obviously we would like to have gone Wednesday. But going through the prelaunch procedures a couple of times now is great experience for our launch team," Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski told SPACE.com in an email. "Practice now will pay dividends later when we are down to a small launch window, less than five minutes, for our [space station] resupply missions later this year."
Orbital Sciences has a three-hour window for today's attempted launch. The 13-story Antares rocket will lift off from the new Launch Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the southern tip of Wallops Island, Va., where it shares land with NASA's Wallops Flight Facility is based. The NASA center has long been the home of the agency's small sounding rocket launches and balloon science projects.
"We have also been pleased with the performance of the vehicle and the launch facility. We have not been working any technical issues, which has been encouraging," Beneski said. "That's remarkable since this is a first time launch for the rocket and the pad."
Today's launch attempt will not carry a full Cygnus spacecraft into orbit. Instead, the rocket is topped with a mockup that will mimic the weight of an actual cargo ship. The rocket is also carrying three coffee cup-size Phonesat satellites — named Alexander, Graham and Bell — as part of a space technology experiment for NASA. A fourth nanosatellite, called Dove 1, is also being flown for a commercial customer, Orbital officials said.
Orbital is one of two companies with NASA contracts to deliver space station cargo. The Hawthorne, Calif.-based firm Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) also has a $1.6 billion deal for at least 12 cargo missions using its Falcon 9 rockets and unmanned Dragon space capsules.
NASA's space shuttle fleet retired in 2011, so the space agency is relying on Orbital Sciences and SpaceX to fly American cargo to the International Space Station. NASA officials also hope to launch American astronauts to the station using private spaceships by 2017. Currently, the U.S. space agency relies on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft to ferry crews to and from the station.
There is a chance that observers along much of the U.S. East Coast could spot the Antares rocket soaring toward space during today's launch test. NASA has advised local observers to watch the launch from its Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center or the nearby Assateague National Seashore. Maps and graphics released by Orbital officials, however, suggest the launch could be seen from as far north as Portland, Maine, and as far south as Charleston, S.C., weather permitting.
Why liquid hydrogen on the really big boosters and kerosene on the small ones?