Orbital: Cygnus Update Thread

[douglas100]

It'd be great for Mars EDL... It'd allow a fully-fueled Mars Ascent Vehicle to be landed on the surface ready to go.

The IRVE doesn't look terribly reusable... Could it be reused?

I believe Lavochkin first developed their system for Mars EDL, but I don't want to take this further OT.

[hkultala]

The PCM also appears to have been stretched by roughly 1/3 of its previous length.

Yes that would be the PCM+ configuration, with an extra band added to add more pressurized volume/cargo lift. This configuration depends on the introduction of the Castor XL upper stage for performance increase. The first flight of Castor 30 XL will be on Taurus II flight 5, or OSC CRS flight 3.

I have seen quotes of the Enhanced Cygnus mass of about 6.5 mt which includes 2.7 mt of payload.  I assume that Cygnus would do all the orbital maneuvers from the Antares insertion point of 200 km.

But if I look at the capabilities of Antares 130 to 200 km and ISS inclination (using Castor 30XL), its capability is about 5.5 mt (see attached plot from Orbital's Antares brochure).

What am I missing?

The delta-v capacity of Cygnus itself? Second stage goes "almost to orbit", cygnus uses it's own engine to achieve orbit and rise to iss orbit?

[manboy]

So what's this for?

[Jim]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

[manboy]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

[woods170]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

[manboy]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

I also thought that but I've never seen them mentioned before.

[woods170]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

I also thought that but I've never seen them mentioned before.

They are clearly visible in this artist impression from Orbitals CRS micro-site

and also in this PDF from Orbital

[manboy]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

I also thought that but I've never seen them mentioned before.

They are clearly visible in this artist impression from Orbitals CRS micro-site

and also in this PDF from Orbital

They appear and disappear on several conceptual drawings.

[Jorge]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

I also thought that but I've never seen them mentioned before.

They are clearly visible in this artist impression from Orbitals CRS micro-site

and also in this PDF from Orbital

They appear and disappear on several conceptual drawings.

They are on Orbital's Cygnus mockup that was displayed at JSC.

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=25251.msg744835#msg744835

[woods170]

So what's this for?

need context.  Which pic is it from?

There are four of those units on the forward end of the PCM, clocked 90 degrees apart. To my untrained eye they look like forward facing RCS thrusters.

I also thought that but I've never seen them mentioned before.

They are clearly visible in this artist impression from Orbitals CRS micro-site

and also in this PDF from Orbital

They appear and disappear on several conceptual drawings.

So? They are there on the flight hardware. The conceptual drawings don't always show the final 'look' of the hardware. That is particularly true for the earlier conceptual drawings.

[spectre9]

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/news/boldenvisit.html

Charlie having a look at the Cygnus.

Other space craft are stealing the lime light right now 

It seems to me like the volume of Cygnus is much more than the competition especially in the enhanced configuration.

High commonality with MPLM I'm guessing being built by Thales Alenia Space.

[Rik ISS-fan]

High commonality with MPLM I'm guessing being built by Thales Alenia Space.

Indeed the pressurized section is being build in Italy by Thales Alenia Space. Thales Alenia Space used the same technology for it as for the MPLM's, Columbus, Node 2 and 3 and the pressurized section of the ATV. The only difference is the smaller diameter.

[Chris Bergin]

Demo mission overview, will give it a standalone thread:
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/06/orbitals-cygnus-debut-mission-iss-outlined/

[AnalogMan]

Update from GSFC today on Demo launch:

COTS OSC Demo-1: Launch delayed until 12/12/2012
(Source: GSFC Mission Activity Forecast 6/29/2012)

http://msdb.gsfc.nasa.gov/change_log.php