 Launch of an Antares 230 | |
| Function | Medium-lift launch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer |
|
| Country of origin | United States |
| Project cost | US$472 million until 2012[1] |
| Cost per launch | US$80−85 million[2] |
| Size | |
| Height | |
| Diameter | 3.9 m (13 ft)[6][5] |
| Mass | |
| Stages | 2 to 3[6] |
| Capacity | |
| Payload toLEO | |
| Mass | 8,000 kg (18,000 lb)[7] |
| Associated rockets | |
| Comparable | Delta II,Atlas III |
| Launch history | |
| Status |
|
| Launch sites | MARS,LP-0A |
| Total launches | 18 (110: 2,120: 2,130: 1,230: 5,230+: 8) |
| Success(es) | 17 (110: 2,120: 2,130: 0,230: 5,230+: 8) |
| Failure(s) | 1 (130: 1) |
| First flight |
|
| Last flight |
|
| Carries passengers or cargo | Cygnus |
| First stage (Antares 100) | |
| Empty mass | 18,700 kg (41,200 lb)[4] |
| Gross mass | 260,700 kg (574,700 lb)[4] |
| Powered by | 2 ×NK-33 (AJ26-62)[8] |
| Maximum thrust | 3,265 kN (734,000 lbf)[8] |
| Specific impulse | SL: 297 s (2.91 km/s) vac: 331 s (3.25 km/s)[4] |
| Burn time | 235 seconds[4] |
| Propellant | RP-1 /LOX[8] |
| First stage (Antares 200) | |
| Empty mass | 20,600 kg (45,400 lb)[5] |
| Gross mass | 262,600 kg (578,900 lb)[5] |
| Powered by | 2 ×RD-181[5] |
| Maximum thrust | 3,844 kN (864,000 lbf)[5] |
| Specific impulse | SL: 311.9 s (3.06 km/s) vac: 339.2 s (3.33 km/s)[5] |
| Burn time | 215 seconds[5] |
| Propellant | RP-1 /LOX |
| First stage (Antares 300) | |
| Powered by | 7 ×Miranda[9] |
| Propellant | RP-1 /LOX |
| Second stage –Castor 30A/B/XL | |
| Gross mass |
|
| Propellant mass |
|
| Maximum thrust |
|
| Burn time | |
| Propellant | TP-H8299 /Al /AP[11] |
Antares (/ænˈtɑːriːz/), known during early development asTaurus II, is an American expendable medium-lift launch vehicle developed and built byOrbital Sciences Corporation (laterOrbital ATK andNorthrop Grumman) with financial support from NASA under theCommercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program awarded in February 2008, alongside the company's automated cargo spacecraft,Cygnus. Like other launch vehicles developed by Orbital, Antares leveraged lower-cost, off-the-shelf parts and designs.
The first stage isliquid fueled, burningRP-1 (kerosene) andliquid oxygen (LOX). Due to Orbital's limited experience with large liquid stages, the construction was subcontracted to the Ukrainian companiesPivdenne andPivdenmash. Initially, the Antares 100 series used refurbished NK-33 engines, remnants of the SovietN1 moon rocket. However, after a catastrophic explosion, the Antares 200 series transitioned to newly built RussianRD-191 engines. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Northrop Grumman announced plans for the Antares 300, featuring a new first stage developed in partnership withFirefly Aerospace. The new first stage, similar to Firefly's MLV launch vehicle, will incorporate composite structures and sevenMiranda engines, increasing Antares's payload capacity.
The second stage is aCastor 30-series solid-fuel rocket, derived from the Castor 120 solid motor used in Orbital'sMinotaur-C (the original Taurus I), and itself based on aPeacekeeper ICBM first stage. While an optional third stage is offered, it has never been used due to the Cygnus spacecraft's integrated service module.
Antares made its maiden flight on April 21, 2013, launching theAntares A-ONE mission fromLP-0A at theMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) with a Cygnus mass simulator. Later that year, on September 18, the rocket successfully launchedOrb-D1, the first Cygnus mission to rendezvous with theInternational Space Station (ISS). Following the successful completion of these two COTS demonstration missions, Antares and Cygnus have been awarded twoCommercial Resupply Services contracts, encompassing a total of 25 missions to the ISS.
The COTS program also funded the development ofSpaceX'sDragon spacecraft andFalcon 9 rocket, aiming to stimulate the commercial space industry by creating two medium-lift launch vehicles. While SpaceX's Falcon 9 has achieved significant commercial success, Antares has not. To date, NASA remains Antares's sole customer, and Cygnus its only payload.
As theSpace Shuttle program neared its end, NASA sought to develop new capabilities for resupplying theInternational Space Station (ISS). Departing from the traditional model of government-owned and operated spacecraft, the agency proposed a new approach: commercial companies would operate spacecraft, while NASA would act as a customer.
To encourage innovation, NASA offered funding through theCommercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program to support the development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles. On February 19, 2008, NASA announced that it would awardOrbital Sciences Corporation a COTS contract worth $171 million. Orbital was expected to invest an additional $150 million, divided between $130 million for the rocket booster and $20 million for the spacecraft.[12]
As part of the COTS program, Orbital would be expected to conduct a successful demonstration of its rocket booster and spacecraft. If both demonstration flights were successful, Orbital would be eligible for a lucrativeCommercial Resupply Service contract of $1.9 billion for eight flights to the ISS.[13]
In June 2008, it was announced that theMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, formerly part of theWallops Flight Facility, inVirginia, would be the primary launch site for the rocket.[14]Launch pad 0A (LP-0A), previously used for the failedConestoga rocket, would be modified to handle Antares.[15] Wallops allows launches which reach the International Space Station's orbit as effectively as those fromCape Canaveral, Florida, while being less crowded.[12][16] The first Antares flight launched a Cygnus mass simulator.[17]
On December 10, 2009,Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) test-fired their Castor 30 motor for use on the second stage of the Antares rocket.[18] In March 2010, Orbital Sciences andAerojet completed test firings of theAJ-26 engines.[19]
Originally designated the Taurus II, Orbital Sciences renamed the vehicle Antares, after thestar of the same name,[20] on December 12, 2011.
As of April 2012, development costs were estimated at $472 million.[1]
On February 22, 2013, a hot fire test was successfully performed, the entire first stage being erected on the pad and held down while the engines fired for 29 seconds.[17]
Thefirst stage of Antares burnsRP-1 (kerosene) andliquid oxygen (LOX). As Orbital had little experience with large liquid stages and LOX propellant, the first stage core was designed and is manufactured inUkraine byPivdenne Design Office andPivdenmash[12] and includes propellant tanks, pressurization tanks, valves, sensors, feed lines, tubing, wiring and other associated hardware.[21] Like theZenit—also manufactured by Pivdenmash—the Antares vehicle has a diameter of 3.9 m (150 in) with a matching 3.9 mpayload fairing.[6]
The Antares 100-series first stage was powered by twoAerojetAJ26 engines. These began asKuznetsovNK-33 engines built in theSoviet Union in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 43 of which were purchased by Aerojet in the 1990s. Twenty of these were refurbished into AJ26 engines for Antares.[22] Modifications included equipping the engines forgimballing, adding US electronics, and qualifying the engines to fire for twice as long as designed and to operate at 108% of their original thrust.[3][19] Together they produced 3,265 kilonewtons (734,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level and 3,630 kN (816,100 lbf) in vacuum.[8]
Following the catastrophic failure of an AJ26 during testing atStennis Space Center in May 2014 and theOrb-3 launch failure in October 2014, likely caused by an engine turbopump,[23] the Antares 100-series was retired.
Because of concerns over corrosion, aging, and the limited supply of AJ26 engines, Orbital had selected new first stage engines[19][24] to bid on asecond major long-term contract for cargo resupply of theISS. After the loss of the Antares rocket in October 2014, Orbital Sciences announced that the Russian RD-181—a modified version of theRD-191—would replace the AJ-26 on the Antares 200-series.[25][26] The first flight of the Antares 230 configuration using the RD-181 launched on October 17, 2016, carrying theCygnus OA-5 cargo to theISS.
The Antares 200 and 200+ first stages are powered by two RD-181 engines, which provide 440 kilonewtons (100,000 lbf) more thrust than the dual AJ26 engines used on the Antares 100. Orbital adapted the existing core stage to accommodate the increased performance in the 200 Series, allowing Antares to deliver up to 6,500 kg (14,300 lb) to low Earth orbit.[7] The surplus performance of the Antares 200-series will allow Orbital to fulfill its ISS resupply contract in only four additional flights, rather than the five that would have been required with the Antares 100-series.[27][28][29]
While the 200 series adapted the originally ordered 100 Series stages (KB Pivdenne/Pivdenmash, Zenit derived),[30] it requires under-throttling the RD-181 engines, which reduces performance.[28]
The Antares was upgraded to theAntares 230+ for the NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. NG-12, launched November 2, 2019, was the first NASA CRS-2 mission to ISS using the 230+ upgrades. The most significant upgrades were structural changes to the intertank bay (between the LOX and RP-1 tanks) and the forward bay (forward of the LOX). Additionally, the company is working on trajectory improvements via a "load-release autopilot" that will provide greater mass to orbit capability.[31]
In August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced that it had contractedFirefly Aerospace to build the 300-series first stage, which is similar to their collaborating in-developmentMLV launch vehicle, and features the same composite structures as well as sevenMiranda engines producing 7,200 kN (1,600,000 lbf) of thrust—substantially greater than the previous 200-series first stage. Northrop Grumman states that the new first stage substantially increases the mass capability of Antares.[32][9]
The announcement occurred as a result of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has jeopardized supply chains for the previous first stages, which are manufactured in Ukraine and useRD-181 engines from Russia.[33]
The second stage is an Orbital ATKCastor 30-seriessolid-fuel rocket, developed as a derivative of the Castor 120 solid motor used asMinotaur-C's first stage, itself based on aLGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM first stage.[34] The first two flights of Antares used a Castor 30A, which was replaced by the enhanced Castor 30B for subsequent flights. The Castor 30B produces 293.4 kN (65,960 lbf) average and 395.7 kN (88,960 lbf) maximum thrust, and useselectromechanicalthrust vector control.[8] For increased performance, the larger Castor 30XL is available[30] and will be used on ISS resupply flights to allow Antares to carry the Enhanced Cygnus.[8][35][36]
The Castor 30XL upper stage for Antares 230+ is being optimized for the CRS-2 contract. The initial design of the Castor 30XL was conservatively built, and after gaining flight experience it was determined that the structural component of the motor case could be lightened.[31]
Antares offers three optional third stages: the Bi-Propellant Third Stage (BTS), aStar 48-based third stage and anOrion 38 motor. BTS is derived from Orbital'sGEOStar, aspacecraft bus and usesnitrogen tetroxide andhydrazine for propellant; it is intended to precisely place payloads into their final orbits.[6] The Star 48-based stage uses aStar 48BV solid rocket motor and would be used for higher energy orbits.[6] The Orion 38 is used on the Minotaur and Pegasus rockets as an upper stage.[37]
The 3.9-meter (13 ft) diameter, 9.9-meter (32 ft) highfairing is manufactured by Northrop Grumman ofIuka, Mississippi, which also builds other composite structures for the vehicle, including the combined fairing adapter, dodecagon, motor cone, and interstage.[38]
.jpg)
On January 14, 2016, NASA awarded three cargo contracts via CRS-2. Orbital ATK's Cygnus was one of these contracts.[39]
According to Mark Pieczynski, Orbital ATK Vice President, Flight Systems Group, "A further improved version [of Antares for CRS-2 contract] is in development which will include: Stage 1 core updates including structural reinforcements and optimization to accommodate increased loads. (Also) certain refinements to the RD-181 engines and CASTOR 30XL motor; and Payload accommodations improvements including a 'pop-top' feature incorporated in the fairing to allow late Cygnus cargo load and optimized fairing adapter structure".
Previously, it was understood that these planned upgrades from the Antares 230 series would create a vehicle known as the Antares 300 series. However, when asked specifically about Antares 300 series development, Mr. Pieczynski stated that Orbital ATK has "not determined to call the upgrades, we are working on, a 300 series. This is still TBD".[40]
In May 2018, the Antares program manager Kurt Eberly indicated that the upgrades will be referred to as Antares 230+.[31]
The first two test flights used aCastor 30A second stage. All subsequent flights will use either aCastor 30B orCastor 30XL. The rocket's configuration is indicated by a three-digit number, the first number representing the first stage, the second the type of second stage, and the third the type of third stage.[35] A + sign added as suffix (fourth position) signifies performance upgrades to the Antares 230 variant.
| Number | First digit | Second digit | Third digit |
|---|---|---|---|
| (First stage) | (Second stage) | (Third stage) | |
| 0 | — | — | No third stage |
| 1 | 2 ×AJ26-62 | Castor 30A | BTS (3 ×BT-4) |
| 2 | 2 ×RD-181 | Castor 30B | Star 48BV |
| 3 | 7 ×Miranda | Castor 30XL | Orion 38 |
Originally scheduled for 2012, the first Antares launch, designatedA-ONE[41] was conducted on April 21, 2013,[42] carrying theCygnus Mass Simulator (aboilerplateCygnus spacecraft) and fourCubeSats contracted by Spaceflight Incorporated:Dove 1 forCosmogia Incorporated (now Planet Labs) and threePhoneSat satellites—Alexander,[43]Graham andBell for NASA.[44]
Prior to the launch, a 27-second test firing of the rocket's AJ26 engines was conducted successfully on February 22, 2013, following an attempt on February 13 which was abandoned before ignition.[17]
A-ONE used the Antares 110 configuration, with a Castor 30A second stage and no third stage. The launch took place fromPad 0A of theMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport onWallops Island,Virginia. LP-0A was a formerConestoga launch complex which had only been used once before, in 1995, for the Conestoga's only orbital launch attempt.[11] Antares became the largest—and first—liquid-fuelled rocket to fly from Wallops Island, as well as the largest rocket launched by Orbital Sciences.[41]
The first attempt to launch the rocket, on April 17, 2013, wasscrubbed after an umbilical detached from the rocket's second stage, and a second attempt on April 20 was scrubbed due to high altitude winds.[45] At the third attempt on April 21, the rocket lifted off at the beginning of its launch window. The launch window for all three attempts was three hours beginning at 21:00UTC (17:00EDT), shortening to two hours at the start of the terminal count, and ten minutes later[clarification needed] in the count.[11][46]
.jpg)
On October 28, 2014, the attempted launch of an Antares carrying aCygnus cargo spacecraft on theOrb-3 resupply mission failed catastrophically six seconds after liftoff fromMid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport atWallops Flight Facility,Virginia.[47] An explosion occurred in the thrust section just as the vehicle cleared the tower, and it fell back down onto the launch pad. The range safety officer sent the destruct command just before impact.[48][49] There were no injuries.[50] Orbital Sciences reported thatLaunch Pad 0A "escaped significant damage",[49] though initial estimates for repairs were in the $20 million range.[51] Orbital Sciences formed an anomaly investigation board to investigate the cause of the incident. They traced it to a failure of the first stage LOX turbopump, but could not find a specific cause. However, the refurbished NK-33 engines, originally manufactured over 40 years earlier and stored for decades, were suspected as having leaks, corrosion, or manufacturing defects that had not been detected.[52] The NASA Accident Investigation Report was more direct in its failure assessment.[53] On October 6, 2015, almost one year after the accident, Pad 0A was restored to use. Total repair costs were about $15 million.[54]
Following the failure, Orbital sought to purchase launch services for its Cygnus spacecraft in order to satisfy its cargo contract with NASA,[24] and on December 9, 2014, Orbital announced that at least one, and possibly two, Cygnus flights would be launched onAtlas V rockets fromCape Canaveral Air Force Station.[55] As it happened,Cygnus OA-4 andCygnus OA-6 were launched with an Atlas V and the Antares 230 performed its maiden flight withCygnus OA-5 in October 2016. One further mission was launched aboard an Atlas in April 2017 (Cygnus OA-7), fulfilling Orbital's contractual obligations towards NASA. It was followed by the Antares 230 in regular service withCygnus OA-8E in November 2017, with three further missions scheduled on their extended contract.
| Flight No. | Date / time (UTC) | Rocket variant | Launch site | Payload, Spacecraft name | Payload mass | Orbit | Operator | Customer | Launch outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | April 21, 2013 21:00 | Antares 110 | MARS,LP-0A | — | LEO | Orbital Sciences Corporation | NASA (COTS) | Success | |
| Antares A-ONE, Antares test flight, using a Castor 30A second stage and no third stage.[56][57] | |||||||||
| 2 | September 18, 2013 14:58 | Antares 110 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (standard) Orb-D1 G. David Low[58] | 700 kg (1,543 lb)[59] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital Sciences Corporation | NASA (COTS) | Success |
| Orbital Sciences COTS demonstration flight. First Antares mission with a real Cygnus capsule, first mission to rendezvous and berth with theInternational Space Station, second launch of Antares. The rendezvous maneuver was delayed due to a computer data link problem,[60] but the issue was resolved and berthing followed shortly thereafter.[61][62] | |||||||||
| 3 | January 9, 2014 18:07 | Antares 120 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (standard) CRS Orb-1 C. Gordon Fullerton[58] | 1,260 kg (2,780 lb)[63] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital Sciences Corporation | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| First Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) mission for Cygnus, and first Antares launch using the Castor 30B upper stage.[35][64] | |||||||||
| 4 | July 13, 2014 16:52 | Antares 120 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (standard) CRS Orb-2 Janice Voss[65] | 1,494 kg (3,293 lb)[66] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital Sciences Corporation | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Spacecraft carried supplies for the ISS, including research equipment, crew provisions, hardware, and science experiments.[67] | |||||||||
| 5 | October 28, 2014 22:22 | Antares 130 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (standard) CRS Orb-3 Deke Slayton[68] | 2,215 kg (4,883 lb)[69] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital Sciences Corporation | NASA (CRS) | Failure |
| LOX turbopump failure T+6 seconds. Rocket fell back onto the pad and exploded.[53][47][50] First Antares launch to use Castor 30XL upper stage. In addition to ISS supplies, payload included aPlanetary ResourcesArkyd-3 satellite[70] and a NASAJPL/UT Austin CubeSat mission named RACE.[71] | |||||||||
| 6 | October 17, 2016 23:45 | Antares 230 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS OA-5 Alan G. Poindexter[72] | 2,425 kg (5,346 lb)[73] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital ATK | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| First launch of Enhanced Cygnus on Orbital's new Antares 230.[74][75][76][77] | |||||||||
| 7 | November 12, 2017 12:19 | Antares 230 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS OA-8E Gene Cernan[78] | 3,338 kg (7,359 lb)[79] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital ATK | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| 8 | May 21, 2018 08:44 | Antares 230 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS OA-9E J.R. Thompson[80] | 3,350 kg (7,386 lb)[81] | LEO (ISS) | Orbital ATK | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Spacecraft carried ISS hardware, crew supplies, and scientific payloads, including the Cold Atom Lab and the Biomolecule Extraction and Sequencing Technology experiment.[81] The Cygnus also demonstrated boosting the station's orbital velocity for the first time, by 0.06 meter per second.[82] | |||||||||
| 9 | November 17, 2018 09:01 | Antares 230 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-10 John Young | 3,416 kg (7,531 lb) | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Largest number of satellites launched on a single rocket (108). Cygnus NG-10, CHEFsat 2,Kicksat 2, 104 Sprite Chipsats (deployed fromKicksat 2), MYSAT 1. | |||||||||
| 10 | April 17, 2019 20:46 | Antares 230 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-11 Roger Chaffee[33] | 3,447 kg (7,600 lbs) | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Launched the last mission under theCommercial Resupply Services-1 for Cygnus.[33] | |||||||||
| 11 | November 2, 2019 13:59 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-12 Alan Bean[83] | 3,728 kg (8,221 lbs) | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Cygnus NG-12 is the first mission under the NASACommercial Resupply Services-2 contract. NG-12 is also the first to use upgraded launcher, Antares 230+. | |||||||||
| 12 | February 15, 2020 20:21 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-13 Robert Lawrence, Jr. | 3,377 kg (7,445 lbs) | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| 13 | October 3, 2020 01:16 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-14 Kalpana Chawla | 3,458 kg (7,624 lbs)[84] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Spacecraft carried ISS hardware, crew supplies, and scientific payloads, including a new toilet (Universal Waste Management System, UWMS), Ammonia Electrooxidation, radishes for Plant Habitat-02, drugs for targeted cancer treatments with Onco-Selectors, and a customized 360-degree camera to capture future spacewalks.[85][84] | |||||||||
| 14 | February 20, 2021 17:36 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-15 Katherine Johnson | 3,810 kg (8399 lbs)[86] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| This mission carried over 8,000 pounds of cargo including roundworms to study muscle loss and the Spaceborne Computer 2, as well as an experiment to study the protein-based manufacturing of artificial retinas.[87] | |||||||||
| 15 | August 10, 2021 22:01 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-16 Ellison Onizuka | 3,723 kg (8210 lbs)[88] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| 16 | February 19, 2022 17:40 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-17 Piers Sellers | 3,800 kg (8,400 lb)[89] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| 17 | November 7, 2022 10:32 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-18 Sally Ride | 3,652 kg (8,051 lb)[90] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| 18 | August 2, 2023 00:31 | Antares 230+ | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (enhanced) CRS NG-19 Laurel Clark | 3,729 kg (8,221 lb)[91] | LEO (ISS) | Northrop Grumman | NASA (CRS) | Success |
| Final Antares 230+ launch. | |||||||||
Note:Cygnus CRS OA-4, the first Enhanced Cygnus mission, andCygnus OA-6 were propelled byAtlas V 401 launch vehicles while the new Antares 230 was in its final stages of development.Cygnus CRS OA-7 was also switched to anAtlas V 401 and launched on April 18, 2017
| Date / time (UTC) | Rocket variant | Launch site | Payload | Orbit | Customer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q4 2025[92] | Antares 330 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (Mission B) CRS NG-23 | LEO (ISS) | NASA |
| First flight of the Antares 330. | |||||
| 2026[93] | Antares 330 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (Mission B) CRS NG-24 | LEO (ISS) | NASA |
| Second flight of the Antares 330. | |||||
| 2026[94] | Antares 330 | MARS, LP-0A | Cygnus (Mission B) CRS NG-25 | LEO (ISS) | NASA |
| Third flight of the Antares 330. | |||||
Note:Cygnus NG-20 andCygnus NG-21 were, andCygnus NG-22 will be propelled byFalcon 9 Block 5 launch vehicles while the new Antares 330 is in development.
The following table shows a typical launch sequence of Antares-100 series rockets, such as for launching aCygnus spacecraft on acargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.[66] The coast phase is required because the solid-fuel upper stage has a short burn time.[95]
| Mission time | Event | Altitude |
|---|---|---|
| T− 03:50:00 | Launch management call to stations | |
| T− 03:05:00 | Poll to initiate liquid oxygen loading system chilldown | |
| T− 01:30:00 | Poll for readiness to initiate propellant loading | |
| T− 00:15:00 | Cygnus/payload switched to internal power | |
| T− 00:12:00 | Poll for final countdown andMES medium flow chilldown | |
| T− 00:11:00 | Transporter-Erector-Launcher (TEL) armed for rapid retract | |
| T− 00:05:00 | Antares avionics switched to internal power | |
| T− 00:03:00 | Auto-sequence start (terminal count) | |
| T− 00:02:00 | Pressurize propellant tanks | |
| T− 00:00:00 | Main engine ignition | |
| T+ 00:00:02.1 | Liftoff | 0 |
| T+ 00:03:55 | Main engine cut-off (MECO) | 102 km (63 mi) |
| T+ 00:04:01 | Stage one separation | 108 km (67 mi) |
| T+ 00:05:31 | Fairing separation | 168 km (104 mi) |
| T+ 00:05:36 | Interstage separation | 170 km (106 mi) |
| T+ 00:05:40 | Stage two ignition | 171 km (106 mi) |
| T+ 00:07:57 | Stage two burnout | 202 km (126 mi) |
| T+ 00:09:57 | Payload separation | 201 km (125 mi) |
Orbital has announced that it is planning to use another engine on Antares and that it will likely not use any more of the 40-year-old AJ-26 engines on the rocket's next flight—which Orbital hopes to conduct in 2016.
LSP Vehicle Systems Engineering, Propulsion Engineering, Stress, Avionics and SMA (Safety and Mission Assurance) participated in the Antares Stage 1 CDR for the modifications necessary to integrate the RD-181 engines at both the 230 and 330 thrust levels.
no evidence of significant damage
nasapr20130421 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).orbital201212 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).colspace20131209 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).wapo20130922 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).nasasf20130928 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).sfnow20130506 was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).orb2_orbital was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).orbatkpr-20150812a was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Orbital_manifest was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Cygnus-NG-14-space-article was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).Cygnus-NG-14-nasa-press-release was invoked but never defined (see thehelp page).
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
| Launch vehicles |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Operators | ||
| Past missions |
| |
| Current missions |
| |
| Future missions | ||
| ||