Cygnus CRS OA-8E

Cygnus CRS OA-8E
Mission type ISS resupply
Operator NASA
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type Enhanced Cygnus[1][2]
Manufacturer Orbital ATK
Thales Alenia Space
Start of mission
Launch date 10 November 2017[3]
Rocket Antares 230[2][4][5]
Launch site MARS LP-0A
Contractor Orbital ATK
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric
Regime Low Earth
Inclination 51.6 degrees
Epoch Planned
Berthing at ISS
Berthing port Harmony nadir or Unity nadir

Cygnus CRS OA-8E, also known as Orbital Sciences CRS Flight 8E, is the ninth planned flight of the Orbital ATK unmanned resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eighth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.[6]

History

The COTS demonstration mission was successfully conducted in September 2013, and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. Regrettably, the third operational mission, Orb CRS-3, was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion. The Antares system will be upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability.[4]

In the meantime, the company has contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of CRS OA-4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral, FL, with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016.[4][5] The company has planned Cygnus missions for the first (CRS OA-5), second (CRS OA-6) and fourth quarters (CRS OA-7) of 2016. Two of which will fly on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V. These three missions will enable Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation.[5] This particular mission, is known as OA-8E, is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract enters in effect. It is called OA-8E rather than OA-8, because the switch to a mix of Atlas V and the more powerful Antares 230 enabled the company to cover its original contract with just 7 flights, even counting the Orb-3 failure, and thus the E indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport.[7]

Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, VA. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles and Houston.[6]

Spacecraft

This is the eighth of ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, and it is considered an extension over the originally contracted flights. This will be the fifth flight of the Enhanced sized Cygnus PCM.[5]

Manifest

Total weight of cargo: up to 3,200 kg (7,100 lb).[2]

Other ORB projects

NASA has tentatively scheduled OA-9E in March 2018, OA-10E in October 2018 and OA-11E in February 2019.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Bergin, Chris (February 22, 2012). "Space industry giants Orbital upbeat ahead of Antares debut". NasaSpaceflight (not affiliated with NASA). Retrieved March 29, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Orbital ATK Team on Track for Fall 2015 Cygnus Mission and Antares Return to Flight in 2016". Orbital ATK. August 12, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ "Mission Update: OA-8 Space Station Cargo Resupply". Orbital ATK. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 11 August 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Gebhardt, Chris (August 14, 2015). "Orbital ATK make progress toward Return To Flight of Antares rocket". NASASpaceflight.com. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Leone, Dan (August 17, 2015). "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Cygnus Fact Sheet" (PDF). Orbital ATK. March 24, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 26, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  7. ↑ Leone, Dan (August 20, 2015). "NASA Considering More Cargo Orders from Orbital ATK, SpaceX". SpaceNews.com. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  8. ↑ "International Space Station Calendar". Spaceflight 101. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
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