.jpg) Canadarm2 approaches the S.S.Rick Husband. | |
| Names | CRS OA-6 CRS Orb-6 (2008–2015) Orbital-6 (2008–2015) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | Orbital ATK |
| COSPAR ID | 2016-019A |
| SATCATno. | 41393 |
| Mission duration | 91 days, 10 hours, 23 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | S.S.Rick Husband |
| Spacecraft type | Enhanced Cygnus[1][2] |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Launch mass | 7,492 kg (16,517 lb)[3] |
| Payload mass | 3,513 kg (7,745 lb) |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 23 March 2016, 03:05:52 (2016-03-23UTC03:05:52Z) UTC (22 March 2016, 11:05:52 pm EDT)[4] |
| Rocket | Atlas V 401 (AV-064) |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral,SLC‑41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 22 June 2016, 13:29 UTC[5] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.66° |
| Berthing atISS | |
| Berthing port | Unitynadir |
| RMS capture | 26 March 2016, 10:51 UTC[6] |
| Berthing date | 26 March 2016, 14:52 UTC |
| Unberthing date | 14 June 2016, 11:43 UTC |
| RMS release | 14 June 2016, 13:30 UTC |
| Time berthed | 79 days, 20 hours, 51 minutes |
 NASA insignia ← OA-4 | |
OA-6, previously known asOrbital-6, is the sixth flight of theOrbital ATKuncrewed resupply spacecraftCygnus and its fifth flight to theInternational Space Station under theCommercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract withNASA.[4][7] The mission launched on 23 March 2016 at 03:05:52UTC.
The Cygnus spacecraft for this mission is named theS.S.Rick Husband in honor of astronautRick Husband.[8]
The first COTS demonstration mission with a Cygnus concluded successfully in September 2013 and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. However, the third operational mission,Cygnus Orb-3, was unsuccessful due tocatastrophic failure of itsAntares 130 launch vehicle. Orbital discontinued theAntares 100 series in favor of the plannedAntares 200, upgraded with newly builtRD-181 first stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability.[9]
While the Antares 200 was under development in 2015–2016, the company contracted withUnited Launch Alliance (ULA) for theAtlas V launch ofCygnus OA-4, which occurred on 6 December 2015, to be followed by the Atlas V launch of Cygnus OA-6 on 23 March 2016.[10]
FutureOrbital ATK launches ofCRS OA-5 in August 2016 andCRS OA-7 in November 2016 would be on the newAntares 230. Together with CRS OA-6, these missions enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation.[11]
Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft was performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module was mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations were conducted from control centers inDulles, Virginia andHouston,Texas.[12]
On 23 March 2016 (UTC), Cygnus CRS OA-6 was successfully launched by the Atlas V intolow Earth orbit. During the flight, the rocket had afirst-stage anomaly that led to shutdown of the first-stage engine approximately five seconds before anticipated. The anomaly forced theCentaur upper stage of the rocket to fire for approximately one minute longer than planned, using reserved fuel margin, but did not significantly impact payload orbital insertion. The preplanned deorbit burn successfully deorbited the stage, but not precisely within the designated location. The issue marked the first Atlas V anomaly in over eight years to be publicly acknowledged by ULA.[13][14]
Cygnus OA-6 is the fifth of ten flights byOrbital ATK under theCommercial Resupply Services contract withNASA. This was the second flight of the Enhanced sized Cygnus PCM.[11] The delay of theNOAAGOES-R satellite from March 2016 to October 2016 created thisAtlas V launch opportunity for Cygnus OA-6 to be launched beforeCygnus OA-5. The mission was launched on 23 March 2016.[4][15]
In keeping with an Orbital ATK tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft is named the S.S.Rick Husband after the NASA astronaut who commanded theSpace ShuttleColumbia's ill-fatedSTS-107 mission in 2003.[16]
Total weight of cargo: 3,513 kg (7,745 lb) usingEnhanced Cygnus.[2][17]
Saffire-1 is aNASA test to studyflammability andfire propagation in space, using the CRS OA-6 after it has delivered cargo to theInternational Space Station. The spacecraft is fitted with various sensors and cameras to record data during what is expected to be a 20-minute fire, to determine how much fire resistance is needed in the ultra-light material used in the spacecraft and astronaut's gear. Cygnus OA-6 will later disintegrate as it enters the Earth's atmosphere.[20]
After this Cygnus OA-6 flight,NASA plans to launch two more Cygnus cargo missions in 2016:Cygnus OA-5 on 6 July 2016 andCygnus OA-7 on 30 December 2016. They will be followed by three flights from the extended contract:Cygnus OA-8E on 12 June 2017,Cygnus OA-9E later in 2017 andCygnus NG-10 in 2018. The schedules in early 2017 are dynamic, due to the first crewed commercial flights (SpaceX,Boeing) to ISS.[7][21]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.
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