Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:
From: Gary Johnson <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: February 23, 2013 10:22:59 AM GMT-06:00
Subject: Fwd: Orbital Hot Fires Antares Rocket
Sent from my iPad
Begin forwarded message:RELEASE : 13-053Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov
Josh Byerly
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
josh.byerly@nasa.gov
Jeremy L. Eggers
Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.govFeb. 22, 2013NASA Partner Orbital Tests Rocket, Newest U.S. Launch PadWALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- NASA commercial partner Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., successfully conducted an engine test of its Antares rocket Friday at the nation's newest launch pad.
The company fired dual AJ26 rocket engines for the full duration 29 seconds while the rocket was bolted down on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. Known as a "hot fire" test, it demonstrated the readiness of the rocket's first stage and launch pad fueling systems to support upcoming test flights.
"This pad test is an important reminder of how strong and diverse the commercial space industry is in our nation," said Phil McAlister, director of Commercial Spaceflight Development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "A little more than one year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we had a U.S company resupplying the International Space Station. Now, another is taking the next critical steps to launch from America's newest gateway to low-Earth Orbit. Today marks significant progress for Orbital, MARS and the NASA team."
Orbital is building and testing its new rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. A demonstration flight of Antares and Cygnus to the space station is planned for later this year. After the successful completion of the COTS demonstration mission to the station, Orbital will begin conducting eight planned cargo resupply flights to the orbiting laboratory through NASA's $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company.
Wallops, which has launched more than 16,000 rockets in its 67-year history, provided launch range support for the hot-fire test, including communications, data collection, range safety and area clearance.
NASA initiatives like COTS are helping to develop a robust U.S. commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit. NASA's Commercial Crew Program also is working with commercial space partners to develop capabilities to launch U.S. astronauts from American soil in the next few years.
For more information about the upcoming Orbital test flights, and links to NASA's COTS and Commercial Crew programs, visit:
- end -===============================================================
Press Release
Contact: Barron Beneski, (703) 406-5000, beneski.barron@orbital.com Orbital Successfully Conducts First Stage "Hot Fire" Test of Antares Space Launch Vehicle -- Company Completes Final Ground Testing on New Medium-Class Launch Vehicle --
-- Next Program Milestone: Test Flight From Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility --
(Dulles, VA 22 February 2013) -- Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world's leading space technology companies, today announced it successfully conducted an extended-duration "hot fire" test of the first stage propulsion system of its new Antares™ medium-class rocket. Developed over a four-plus-year period, Antares will be used to launch cargo supply missions to the International Space Station as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.
The 29-second hot fire test took place at 6:00 p.m. (EST) on February 22, 2013 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's (MARS) Pad 0A, which was designed and built over the last several years to accommodate liquid-fuel space launch vehicles. The primary goals of the test were to ensure that the launch complex's fueling systems and the Antares stage one test article functioned properly in a fully operational environment, that engine ignition and shut down commands operated as designed, and that the dual AJ26 first stage engines and their control systems performed to specifications in the twin-engine configuration. The test included a full propellant loading sequence, launch countdown and engine ignition operation. The pad's high-volume water deluge system flowed throughout the entire period of the test to protect the pad from damage and for noise suppression.
"Our initial assessment of the test data shows that we were successful in achieving each of the primary objectives we had hoped to accomplish going into the test," said Mr. Mike Pinkston, Orbital's Antares Program Manager. "We will now turn our attention to the next major milestone for the Antares program, which is the inaugural flight of the rocket. I know that I speak for the entire Antares team when I say we are beyond excited to know that our newest rocket will take to the skies in just a matter of weeks."
With the hot fire test complete, Orbital will purge and clean the engines of residual propellants and return the first stage test unit to the vehicle integration facility for full reconditioning. Shortly after completing pad and fueling systems post-test inspections and performing any necessary reconditioning work, Orbital will roll out the first complete two-stage Antares rocket to prepare it for the test flight, which is expected to take place in approximately six weeks.
Orbital is scheduled to conduct two launches under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement with NASA in 2013. In addition, the company will launch eight operational cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) using Antares vehicles from late 2013 through 2016 under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The COTS and CRS flights will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia, which is ideally suited for ISS missions, and can also accommodate launches to other orbits. In addition, Orbital is currently evaluating its options for development of a west coast launch site that would enable the Antares rocket to address an even wider range of customer missions.
The Antares medium-class launch system will provide a significant increase in the payload launch capability that Orbital can provide to NASA, the U.S. Air Force and other customers. The Antares rocket will be able to launch up to 14,000 lbs. into low-Earth orbit, as well as lighter-weight payloads into higher-energy orbits. Orbital's newest launcher is currently on-ramped to both the NASA Launch Services-2 and the U.S. Air Force's Orbital/Suborbital-3 contracts, enabling the two largest U.S. government space launch customers to order Antares for "right-size and right-price" launch services for medium-class spacecraft.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers. The company's primary products are satellites and launch vehicles, including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found at http://www.orbital.com. Follow Orbital on Twitter @OrbitalSciences.
# # #
©2013 Orbital Sciences Corporation. All Rights Reserved===============================================================AmericaSpace
For a nation that explores
February 22nd, 2013Orbital Successfully Hot Fires Antares Rocket, Tests New Pad at Wallops
By Jason RhianNASA and Orbital Science Corporation conducted a successful "hot-fire" test of the Antares rocket's AJ26 engines this evening from NASA's Wallops Facility, located in Virginia. Photo Credit: NASA
Twenty-nine seconds might not seem like much, but for Orbital Science Corporation it was 29 seconds of pure victory. NASA and Orbital conducted a successful hot firing of the company's Antares rocket at the United State's newest launch complex. The "hot-fire" test, as it is called, took place at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A.
The test involved not only the checking out of the Antares twin AJ26 engines, but also the launch pad's fueling systems in preparation for planned flights of this new launch vehicle. The test helped validate the readiness of the Antares first stage and is the last major milestone that has to be completed in preparation for the rocket's maiden flight, planned for later this year.
"Today's successful stage test positions us one step closer to supporting Orbital's historic flight test," said Aerojet Vice President of Space & Launch Systems Julie Van Kleeck. "We're proud to deliver for the Antares team, and we're looking forward to continuing the countdown toward the inaugural mission."
The AJ26 engine is supplied by Aeorjet, which purchased the NK-33 engines from a Russian rocket manufacturer in the mid-90s and has since redubbed it the AJ26. The AJ26 is described by Aerojet as being an "oxidizer-rich, staged-combustion LO2/Kerosene engine." Under this test, these engines were kept bolted down—even as they produced 68,000 lbs of thrust.
"Aerojet purchased the NK-33 engines from JSC Kuznetsov in the mid-1990s and has been developing design modifications to ensure that the AJ26 is suitable for U.S. commercial launch vehicles," said Aerojet's Executive Director of Space & Launch Systems Pete Cova. "As teammates, JSC Kuznetsov brings tremendous technical support to our efforts, and we are looking forward to supporting Orbital in its Cargo Resupply Contract with NASA."
With the "hot-fire" test out of the way, Orbital can now focus on the inaugural flight of Antares. Photo Credit: NASA / P.Black
Orbital is a commercial space firm that, like Space Exploration Technologies, or "SpaceX," is developing a rocket, the Antares, as well as the Cygnus cargo vessel under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) contract. SpaceX has already completed COTS' objectives and has moved on to actual resupply flights to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.
With the "hot-fire" test out of the way, Orbital is now poised to conduct a demonstration flight of the Antares. This mission will not carry a Cygnus spacecraft, which will be reserved for the following flight. The first Orbital will conduct under COTS. If Orbital can accomplish COTS' requirements, it can begin conducting CRS flights. There is a lot riding on the success of this and upcoming missions as NASA has a $1.9 billion contract with Orbital under CRS.
"This pad test is an important reminder of how strong and diverse the commercial space industry is in our nation," said Phil McAlister, director of NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Development. "A little more than one year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we had a U.S company resupplying the International Space Station. Now, another is taking the next critical steps to launch from America's newest gateway to low-Earth orbit. Today marks significant progress for Orbital, MARS, and the NASA team."
NASA's Wallops facility provided more than just a backdrop for the "hot-fire" test. More than 16,000 rockets have been sent aloft during the facility's 67-year history, and the personnel there has provided communications, data collection, range safety, and other forms of launch range support.
NASA has been working to empower a number of smaller, private space companies to take over the role of sending cargo into low-Earth orbit as the space agency focuses on sending crew beyond the orbit of Earth for the first time in more than four decades. To date, none of these companies has launched any crew, and, as mentioned, only two unmanned flights to the International Space Station have been conducted by SpaceX.
Copyright © 2013 AmericaSpace - All Rights Reserved===============================================================Antares rocket completes engine hot fire in Virginia
BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW
February 22, 2013
Orbital Sciences Corp. conducted a successful engine test of its Antares rocket Friday, demonstrating the booster's dual-engine first stage on a Virginia launch pad and clearing a hurdle before the rocket's first flight in April.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wFj4A2vW3yY
Ignition of the Antares rocket's first stage AJ26 engines was at 6 p.m. EST. Credit: NASA/Orbital Sciences
As light rain fell, the Antares engines ignited at 6 p.m. EST (2300 GMT) on launch pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va.The booster's two AJ26 engines, built in Russia and modified by Aerojet, fired for 29 seconds. The rocket remained firmly attached to the launch pad as the engines generated 680,000 pounds of thrust, sending a ground-shaking roar across the coasts of Virginia and Maryland.
The hot fire test occurred at the end of a full countdown sequence, including fueling of the first stage with kerosene and cryogenic liquid oxygen.
"Our initial assessment of the test data shows that we were successful in achieving each of the primary objectives we had hoped to accomplish going into the test," said Mike Pinkston, Antares program manager at Orbital Sciences. "We will now turn our attention to the next major milestone for the Antares program, which is the inaugural flight of the rocket. I know that I speak for the entire Antares team when I say we are beyond excited to know that our newest rocket will take to the skies in just a matter of weeks."
Officials said the primary goals of the test were to demonstrate the launch pad's fueling systems, engine ignition and shutdown commands, and the performance of the AJ26 engines in a dual-engine configuration.
The launch pad's water deluge sound suppression system also worked as designed to protect the pad from damage, according to Orbital Sciences.
The Antares rocket is the first liquid-fueled vehicle developed by Orbital Sciences, and the rocket's new launch pad is the first facility at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility designed to handle large quantities of liquid propellants.
The rocket's main engines are tested one-at-a-time at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, but Friday's hot fire was the first time two Russian-built, U.S.-owned AJ26 engines fired at the same time.
Aerojet converted Russian NK-33 engines into an AJ26 engine by removing some harnessing, adding U.S. electronics, qualifying it for U.S. propellants, and modifying the system to gimbal for steering.
Kept in storage for four decades, the NK-33 engines were originally designed and built in the 1960s and 1970s for the ill-fated Soviet N1 moon rocket.
"Aerojet purchased the NK-33 engines from JSC Kuznetsov in the mid-1990s and has been developing design modifications to ensure that the AJ26 is suitable for U.S. commercial launch vehicles," said Pete Cova, Aerojet's executive director of space and launch systems, in a statement. "As teammates, JSC Kuznetsov brings tremendous technical support to our efforts and we are looking forward to supporting Orbital in its cargo resupply contract with NASA."
The Antares first stage core tank was designed and built in Ukraine by Yuzhnoye and Yuzhmash. The Ukrainian contractors modified the 12.8-foot-diameter first stage of the Zenit rocket for Orbital's Antares program.
Orbital Sciences is one of two commercial partners commissioned by NASA to develop private resupply vehicles for the International Space Station.
"This pad test is an important reminder of how strong and diverse the commercial space industry is in our nation," said Phil McAlister, NASA's director of commercial spaceflight development. "A little more than one year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we had a U.S company resupplying the space station, and another is now taking the next critical steps to launch from America's newest gateway to low Earth Orbit. Today marks significant progress for Orbital, MARS and the NASA team."
Two Antares rockets are in the horizontal integration facility at Wallops awaiting launch. Credit: Orbital Sciences
NASA has an agreement to pay Orbital up to $288 million in a public-private partnership called the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program.
The COTS agreement covers development of the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft. NASA has a separate $1.9 billion contract with Orbital Sciences for eight operational flights.
NASA has a similar arrangement with SpaceX, which completed its COTS obligations last year and began operational resupply services in October.
Orbital Sciences plans to remove the Antares first stage from the launch pad and return the booster to the horizontal integration facility about one mile north of the pad.
"Shortly after completing pad and fueling systems post-test inspections and performing any necessary reconditioning work, Orbital will roll out the first complete two-stage Antares rocket to prepare it for the test flight, which is expected to take place in approximately six weeks," the company said in a statement.
The Antares test flight, which could occur as soon as early April, will launch a dummy payload into orbit. A second Antares mission in June or July will launch the first functional Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration flight to the International Space Station.
Operational flights could begin before the end of 2013.
Orbital Sciences is also trying to sell Antares rockets to NASA and the U.S. military for satellite launches.
© 2013 Spaceflight Now Inc.===============================================================New Privately Built Rocket Passes Key Engine Test
by Tariq Malik, SPACE.com Managing Editor23 February 2013 Time: 06:55 AM ET
The commercial spaceflight company Orbital Sciences Corp. successfully tests the first stage engines of its Antares rocket during a hot fire test at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Va., on Feb. 22, 2013.
CREDIT: NASA/Wallops Flight Facility
A new commercial rocket designed to launch unmanned cargo missions to the International Space Station passed a key engine test Friday night (Feb. 22), setting the stage for the booster's debut flight in the months ahead, NASA officials say.
The Virginia-based company Orbital Sciences Corp. test-fired the first stage engines of its new Antares rocket at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, Va. — the home of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. The so-called "hot fire" test ignited the Antares rocket's engines for 29 seconds without ever leaving the launch pad.
Friday's engine test was aimed at verifying the fueling systems at the spaceport's launch Pad-0A and Antares rocket first stage would perform as expected during an actual mission, Orbital officials said.
"Initial review of the test data indicate the primary objectives of the test were accomplished," Orbital officials wrote in a status update. "The pad and fueling systems will undergo post-test inspections and any necessary reconditioning work will be performed."
Orbital Sciences is one of two private spaceflight companies with billion-dollar NASA contracts to provide unmanned cargo delivery missions to the International Space Station. Under its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract, Orbital will make at least eight delivery flights to the space station using its Antares rocket and robotic Cygnus spacecraft. The first Antares rocket test flight is expected later this year. [Antares Rocket and Cygnus Explained (Infographic)]
The Hawthorne, Calif.-based Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) is the other company with a NASA contract for unmanned space station deliveries. SpaceX has a $1.6 billion contract to fly at least 12 missions to the space station using its Dragon space capsules and Falcon 9 rocket. The company launched both a test flight and a bona fide delivery mission to the space station in 2012. The second delivery flight under the contract is slated to launch on March 1.
"This pad test is an important reminder of how strong and diverse the commercial space industry is in our nation," Phil McAlister, director of Commercial Spaceflight Development at NASA Headquarters in Washington, said in a statement. "A little more than one year after the retirement of the space shuttle, we had a U.S company resupplying the International Space Station. Now, another is taking the next critical steps to launch from America's newest gateway to low-Earth orbit."
Orbital plans to launch its Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, which is located on Virginia's eastern shore. NASA's Wallops Flight Facility there has launched more than 16,000 rockets in the last 67 years, though Orbital's Antares flights would be the first space station-bound missions launched from Virginia.
An Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket is seen partially assembled ahead of 2013 test flight.
CREDIT: Orbital Sciences Corp.With the retirement of NASA's space shuttle fleet in 2011, the space agency is relying on new private rockets and spacecraft to ferry cargo — and eventually astronauts — to and from low-Earth orbit. NASA is currently dependent on Russia, Europe and Japan for cargo deliveries to the space station. Russia's Soyuz spacecraft are the only vehicles currently available to ferry astronauts to and from the station.
Orbital's engine Friday test marked the company's second attempt to check the Antares rocket's dual AJ26 rocket engines, which are designed to provide 680,000 pounds of thrust. A first attempt on Feb. 13 was aborted before engine ignition due to a "low pressurization" detection during a nitrogen purge in the rocket's aft engine compartment, Orbital officials said in an update.
Orbital officials are now working toward test flights of the Antares rocket and its Cygnus spacecraft. The first demonstration flight falls under a separate contract for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program, and is expected to launch later this year.
This story was updated Saturday at 6 a.m. ET to include information on the success of Friday's Antares rocket engine test and comments from NASA and Orbital Sciences.
Copyright © 2013 TechMediaNetwork.com All rights reserved.===============================================================
No comments:
Post a Comment