Orbital Antares Launch Postponed to July 13, Orbital “Orbital announced this morning that the launch of the Antares rocket for the Orb-2 Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station for NASA has been rescheduled for Sunday, July 13 at 12:52 p.m. EDT. Over the past several days, Orbital’s launch team has made great progress in preparing the rocket for the Orb-2 mission, which will be the fourth flight […]

Orbital Antares Launch Postponed, Orbital “Orbital has rescheduled the launch of its Antares rocket for the Orb-2 mission to a date of no earlier than (NET) June 17, 2014. Orb-2 is the second of eight cargo resupply missions to the International Space Station under Orbital’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The new launch schedule has been established to allow the engineering teams from the main stage propulsion supplier […]

Cargo Launched to Space Station Aboard Orbital-1 Mission “The launch aboard Orbital’s Antares rocket took place from NASA’s Wallop’s Flight Facility in Virginia Thursday, at 1:07 p.m. EST.” Orbital Launches Antares Rocket Carrying Cygnus On ISS Cargo Resupply Mission “Under a $1.9 billion CRS contract with NASA, Orbital will use Antares and Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000 pounds (20,000 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over eight missions through […]

Orbital’s Cygnus Readying for First Space Station Flight, OnOrbit “Orbital Sciences’ Cygnus cargo craft is bound for the International Space Station on a test flight. This flight will prove Cygnus’ ability to rendezvous with the station and be captured by the crew on board.” Marc’s note: With just under a month to the Orbital Antares launch to the Space Station, NASA has released this slick video on the Commercial Orbital […]

Much at Stake for Proton, Antares as September 15 Nears, Space Policy Online “Purely by coincidence, if all goes according to plan September 15 will be a big day for a venerable Russian rocket recovering from a recent spectacular failure as well as a new U.S. rocket that is powered by Russian engines. A lot is at stake for both. … A successful Proton launch could help restore confidence in […]

NASA commercial space partner Orbital Sciences Test Launches Antares Rocket “Corporation Sunday launched its Antares rocket at 05:00 p.m. EDT from the new Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The test flight was the first launch from the pad at Wallops and was the first flight of Antares, which delivered the equivalent mass of a spacecraft, a so-called mass simulated payload, into Earth’s orbit.” […]

Orbital Schedules New Antares Rocket Launch Window “Orbital Sciences Corporation today announced that the next launch attempt for the new Antares rocket will be no earlier than Saturday, April 20, at 5 p.m. The mission management team met this afternoon to evaluate weather forecasts and optimum crew work schedules to provide two back-to-back opportunities for a launch attempt.” Orbital’s Antares Rocket Launch Postponed Graphics: How To See The Antares Launch […]

Orbital Rolls Out Antares Rocket to Launch Pad at Wallops Island For Upcoming Test Flight “Early this morning, Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) rolled out the first fully integrated Antares(TM) rocket from its assembly building at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in eastern Virginia in preparation for its inaugural flight that is scheduled for April 17 at approximately 5:00 p.m. (EDT).”

Orbital’s private launch may show whether NASA made right call, Orlando Sentinel “In the past four years, a different Orbital rocket failed on two separate NASA missions. Jeff Foust, editor of The Space Review, said Orbital needs a success to stake a bigger claim on the space-launch market. “If they have problems with [these Antares test flights] … it starts to raise the question on whether they can make this […]

Orbital Schedules Antares Engine Test for February 12th, SpaceRef Business “Orbital announced today that on Tuesday, February 12th they will perform a hot-fire test at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A for their new Antares rocket. The window for the engine test is 6-9 p.m. EST. NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility will provide launch range support.” Marc’s update: The hot-fire has moved to Wednesday though weather is moving in and could delay […]