Author Topic: NASA Adds Orbital's Antares To Launch Services II Contract  (Read 5659 times)

Offline Chris Bergin

June 26, 2012

Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington     
202-358-1100
[email protected]

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
[email protected]



CONTRACT RELEASE: C12-027

NASA ADDS ORBITAL'S ANTARES TO LAUNCH SERVICES II CONTRACT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has modified its NASA Launch Services
(NLS) II contract with Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va.,
to add the Antares launch vehicle, formerly known as Taurus II, for
future missions.

The NLS II on-ramp provision provides an opportunity annually for
launch service providers not presently under NLS II contract to
compete for future missions, and allows launch service providers
already under contract to introduce launch vehicles not currently on
their NLS II contracts, such as Antares.

NLS II contracts are multiple award, indefinite
delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with ordering periods through
June 2020. The contracts provide for a minimum capability of
delivering agency payloads weighing approximately 550 pounds or more
to a minimum 124-mile-high circular orbit with a launch inclination
of 28.5 degrees. The launch service providers also may offer a range
of vehicles to NASA to meet higher payload mass and orbit
requirements.

These contracts support the goals and objectives of the agency's
Science Mission Directorate, Human Exploration and Operations Mission
Directorate, and Office of the Chief Technologist. Under the
contract, NASA also can provide launch services to other government
agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.

The Launch Services Program Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in
Florida is responsible for program management.
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Offline kevin-rf

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Offline baldusi

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When will they load the performance estimation data?

Offline Lars_J

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Nice!

Is there a list somewhere of the LV that have qualified for this? (or currently are?)

Offline joek

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When will they load the performance estimation data?

Going by past experience, we might get it by Oct...  They don't have the Antares announcement up on the NLS II site (much less data), so who knows.  Been waiting for the Falcon 9 V1.1 data since the 14-May "official" announcement--as of today it's still "coming soon".


Offline joek

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Is there a list somewhere of the LV that have qualified for this? (or currently are?)

See the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) Launch Vehicle Performance site
« Last Edit: 06/26/2012 10:31 pm by joek »

Offline MP99

NLS II contracts are multiple award, indefinite
delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with ordering periods through
June 2020. The contracts provide for a minimum capability of
delivering agency payloads weighing approximately 550 pounds or more
to a minimum 124-mile-high circular orbit with a launch inclination
of 28.5 degrees
. The launch service providers also may offer a range
of vehicles to NASA to meet higher payload mass and orbit
requirements.

This is great news, but I am confused about the 28.5 degree inclination mentioned, since you wouldn't go to that inclination from Wallops.

I presume this is a minimum, since there are LSP launches contracted from both Wallops & VAFB, as well as KSC?

cheers, Martin

Offline MP99

Is there a list somewhere of the LV that have qualified for this? (or currently are?)

See the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) Launch Vehicle Performance site

Oh, that's nice! Thread started about the performance tools here.

cheers, Martin

Offline Jim

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NLS II contracts are multiple award, indefinite
delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with ordering periods through
June 2020. The contracts provide for a minimum capability of
delivering agency payloads weighing approximately 550 pounds or more
to a minimum 124-mile-high circular orbit with a launch inclination
of 28.5 degrees
. The launch service providers also may offer a range
of vehicles to NASA to meet higher payload mass and orbit
requirements.

This is great news, but I am confused about the 28.5 degree inclination mentioned, since you wouldn't go to that inclination from Wallops.

I presume this is a minimum, since there are LSP launches contracted from both Wallops & VAFB, as well as KSC?

cheers, Martin

it is just a minimum performance requirement

Offline baldusi

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Re: NASA Adds Orbital's Antares To Launch Services II Contract
« Reply #10 on: 06/28/2012 07:36 pm »
Falcon 9 v1.1 performance data took about 45 days from the day it was announced to it actually appearing on the NLS II web tools. Can we expect some similar time frame for Antares (say, no more than two months)?

Offline ugordan

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Re: NASA Adds Orbital's Antares To Launch Services II Contract
« Reply #11 on: 08/27/2012 05:11 pm »
Can we expect some similar time frame for Antares (say, no more than two months)?

Still nothing...

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