.jpg) Canadarm2 approaches the S.S.John Glenn | |
| Names | CRS OA-7 CRS Orb-7 (2008–2015) Orbital-7 (2008–2015) |
|---|---|
| Mission type | ISS resupply |
| Operator | Orbital ATK |
| COSPAR ID | 2017-019A |
| SATCATno. | 42681 |
| Mission duration | 54 days, 1 hour, 56 minutes |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | S.S.John Glenn |
| Spacecraft type | Enhanced Cygnus[1][2] |
| Manufacturer |
|
| Launch mass | 7,220 kg (15,920 lb)[3] |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 18 April 2017, 15:11:26 (2017-04-18UTC15:11:26Z) UTC (11:11:26 am EDT)[4] |
| Rocket | Atlas V 401 (AV-070)[5] |
| Launch site | Cape Canaveral,SLC‑41 |
| Contractor | United Launch Alliance |
| End of mission | |
| Disposal | Deorbited |
| Decay date | 11 June 2017, 17:08 (2017-06-11UTC17:09Z) UTC[6] |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Inclination | 51.66° |
| Berthing atISS | |
| Berthing port | Unitynadir |
| RMS capture | 22 April 2017, 10:05 UTC[7] |
| Berthing date | 22 April 2017, 12:39 UTC |
| Unberthing date | 4 June 2017, 11:05 UTC[8] |
| RMS release | 4 June 2017, 13:10 UTC |
| Time berthed | 42 days, 22 hours, 26 minutes |
| Cargo | |
| Mass | 3,459 kg (7,626 lb) |
| Pressurised | 3,376 kg (7,443 lb) |
| Unpressurised | 83 kg (183 lb) |
 NASA insignia | |
OA-7, previously known asOrbital-7, is the eighth flight of theOrbital ATKuncrewed resupply spacecraftCygnus and its seventh flight to theInternational Space Station (ISS) under theCommercial Resupply Services contract withNASA.[5] The mission launched on 18 April 2017 at 15:11:26UTC. Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under theCommercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, thenOrbital Sciences designed and builtAntares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partnerThales Alenia Space.[9]
The Cygnus OA-7 is named theS.S.John Glenn in honor of astronaut and senatorJohn Glenn, the first U.S. astronaut to orbit theEarth onMercury-Atlas 6 and the oldest to go to space onSTS-95, until 2021.[10]
.jpg)
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. The third operational mission,Orb CRS-3, was not successful due to anAntares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion system. The Antares system was upgraded with newly builtRD-181 first stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability.[11]
In the meantime, the company contracted withUnited Launch Alliance (ULA) for twoAtlas V launches fromCape Canaveral,Florida:CRS OA-4 flew in December 2015 andCygnus OA-6 in March 2016.[12] The first Cygnus mission on the newAntares 230 (CRS OA-5) was delayed to October 2016 and performed successfully. This particular mission, known asOA-7, enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation.[12] At NASA's request, OA-7 was switched from an Antares to anAtlas V rocket to increase the payload delivered to the ISS.[4] Antares flights resumed withCRS OA-8E (the first of Orbital's extended contract with NASA) in November 2017.
Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers inDulles, Virginia andHouston,Texas.[9]
Cygnus OA-7 launched on 18 April 2017 at 15:11:26UTC aboard anAtlas V 401 rocket.[13] The freighter rendezvoused and was berthed to the ISS on 22 April 2017,[7] where it remained for just under 43 days.
NASA announced on 1 June 2017 its intention to unberth Cygnus a month ahead of schedule.[14] In preparation for unberthing, Cygnus was grappled byCanadarm2 on 2 June 2017. Early on 4 June 2017, the bolts securing Cygnus to the station were retracted, and Canadarm2 unberthed the spacecraft at 11:05 UTC. Crew members aboard the station maneuvered Cygnus to its release attitude, and at 13:10 UTC the vehicle was released from Canadarm2. One minute later, Cygnus began carrying out a series of departure burns to move it away from the ISS.[8]
At approximately 20:00 UTC, the SAFFIRE III experiment on board Cygnus was commanded to execute. This experiment involves the controlled ignition of spacecraft material samples to test how they burn in microgravity.[8] On 8 June 2017, four LEMUR-2 CubeSats was deployed, one pair at 20:46 UTC and the other pair at 23:46 UTC.[8][15] Reentry for Cygnus is scheduled for 11 June 2017; as the vehicle begins breaking up in Earth's atmosphere, three probes will be released as part of the RED-Data2 experiment, collecting data on how high-temperature materials react to reentry, as well as helping to characterize how spacecraft break up on reentry.[15][16]
Orbital ATK announced on 11 June 2017 that the OA-7 mission had formally ended at 17:08 UTC with the reentry and destruction of the S.S.John Glenn. The spacecraft reentered east ofNew Zealand over thePacific Ocean, disposing of approximately 1,950 kg (4,300 lb) of trash and unneeded hardware.[6][17]
.jpg)
This is the seventh of ten flights byOrbital ATK under theCommercial Resupply Services contract withNASA. This is the fourth flight of the Enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[12][18] The spacecraft and on-board payloads were processed at Kennedy'sSpace Station Processing Facility.
OA-7 carried a total of 3,459 kg (7,626 lb) of material into orbit. This included 3,376 kg (7,443 lb) of pressurised cargo with packaging bound for theInternational Space Station, and 83 kg (183 lb) of unpressurised cargo composed of fourCubeSats that will be released from the Cygnus spacecraft after unberthing from the ISS.[19][13] OA-7 carried 34 other CubeSats that will be launched from theKibō module on ISS, including 28 that were built by university students as part of theQB50 program.[13]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.| Launch vehicles |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Operators | ||
| Past missions |
| |
| Current missions |
| |
| Future missions | ||
| ||
| ||
| 2000–2004 |  | |
| 2005–2009 | ||
| 2010–2014 | ||
| 2015–2019 | ||
| 2020–2024 | ||
| Future | ||
| Spacecraft | ||
| ||
