Tag: Orbital Sciences

Cygnus on its Way to ISS

Cygnus on its Way to ISS

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket lifted off precisely on time, at 1:07 p.m. EST today,  carrying the company’s Cygnus cargo vessel. Following a flawless liftoff, Cygnus was released from the second stage, deploying its solar panels a few moments later. With today’s launch, OSC has now completed three successful flights of the two stage, liquid […]

Antares Poised for Second Launch to Station

Antares Poised for Second Launch to Station

After a series of delays  beginning with a coolant pump failure which prompted a Christmas Eve spacewalk,  a blast of Arctic air which chilled much of the nation, and finally high radiation levels in space, Orbital Sciences is ready to conduct its second flight to the International Space Station, and the first of eight scheduled […]

Seasons Greetings; Orbital Tells ULA See You In Court

Seasons Greetings; Orbital Tells ULA See You In Court

According to a report in aerospace industry magazine Space News, a US district judge has denied a request by United Launch Alliance to dismiss the lawsuit levied against the monopoly launch provider by Orbital Sciences Corporation over access to the Russian built RD-180 first stage engine which powers the Atlas V rocket.   Unless the case […]

Orbital’s Really Good Year Keeps Rolling

Orbital’s Really Good Year Keeps Rolling

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s really good year kept rolling Tuesday evening with the 8:15 p.m. EST flight of a Minotaur 1 rocket out of the Mid Atlantic Regional Spaceport.  Orbital’s next launch, and the culmination of what will be a breakout year for the company, will be its first under  NASA’s CRS program. That mission is […]

One Thing Old, Two Things New; Proton Flies, OSC and SpaceX Triumph

One Thing Old, Two Things New; Proton Flies, OSC and SpaceX Triumph

It began with a historic berthing in LEO, and ended with the successful return to flight of a troubled booster steeped in anachronism. And right in the middle, the future emerged on a pillar of fire piercing a blue Pacific sky. To begin at the ending, the oft troubled Proton booster returned to flight  Sunday […]

“Data Format Discrepancy” Delays Cygnus Approach to Station

“Data Format Discrepancy” Delays Cygnus Approach to Station

Orbital Sciences posted the following update regarding the COTS D1 mission on Sunday; “Following the discovery of a data format discrepancy between an on-board International Space Station (ISS) navigation system and a similar system on Cygnus at around 1:30 a.m. this morning, today’s rendezvous with the station was postponed. At this time, NASA and Orbital […]

Antares Conducts Flawless Launch on Way to ISS

Antares Conducts Flawless Launch on Way to ISS

Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares launch vehicle, carrying the Cygnus cargo vessel made an picture perfect liftoff this morning to mark the beginning of its COTS D1 Demonstration mission to the International Space Station.  With good weather and no issues, the two stage Antares blasted off at 10:58  A.M. EDT from Pad-0A  at  the Mid-Atlantic Regional […]

It’s Nominal! LADEE En route to the Moon

It’s Nominal! LADEE En route to the Moon

If you happened to be playing the Orbital Science’s drinking game, you might have lost track somewhere around 5th stage ignition, but after a flawless countdown and launch, the 844 lb. LADEE probe is on the way to the Moon. Taking off right on time, the Minotaur V continued Orbital’s very good year, boosting the […]

LADEE Poised for Liftoff Tonight

LADEE Poised for Liftoff Tonight

NASA’s LADEE,  Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission stands poised for liftoff aboard an Orbital Sciences Minotaur V launch vehicle from pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at 11:27 p.m. EDT this evening. With the near midnight flight expected to be visible from much of the U.S. East Coast, it is likely to […]

Pegasus Delivers IRIS to Orbit

Pegasus Delivers IRIS to Orbit

Orbital Sciences Press Release: Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) announced today that its Pegasus® rocket successfully launched the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) satellite for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The IRIS spacecraft was deployed into its targeted orbit approximately 400 miles above the Earth and early results confirm that the satellite is […]

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