Author Topic: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES  (Read 80820 times)

Offline arachnitect

  • Member
  • Full Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1553
  • Liked: 501
  • Likes Given: 759
Re: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES
« Reply #240 on: 02/20/2016 02:55 pm »
Who knew Enhanced Cygnus would look so spectacular in her native element?

A great and important mission. Everyone involved should be very proud.

Offline Mark McCombs

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 320
  • SW Washington
  • Liked: 157
  • Likes Given: 2233
Re: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES
« Reply #241 on: 02/20/2016 04:58 pm »
Thank you NSF for the coverage.  I missed the event because of work.

 8)
"Are you sure you want to go to Red Alert, Sir? It does mean changing the bulb." - Kryten
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory". LLAP - Leonard Nimoy

Offline Mark McCombs

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 320
  • SW Washington
  • Liked: 157
  • Likes Given: 2233
Re: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES
« Reply #242 on: 02/20/2016 05:03 pm »
Orbital ATK ‏@OrbitalATK  · 16m16 minutes ago 

At ~11 am ET today, the S.S. Deke Slayton II #Cygnus reentered Earth's atmosphere over the Pacific, marking a successful end of mission.

"Are you sure you want to go to Red Alert, Sir? It does mean changing the bulb." - Kryten
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory". LLAP - Leonard Nimoy

Online jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES
« Reply #243 on: 02/23/2016 07:39 pm »
Jacques :-)

Online jacqmans

  • Moderator
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 21709
  • Houten, The Netherlands
  • Liked: 8560
  • Likes Given: 320
Re: LIVE: Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) BERTHING/ISS STAY/EOM UPDATES
« Reply #244 on: 02/24/2016 09:07 am »
Orbital ATK Successfully Completes OA-4 Cargo Delivery Mission to International Space Station for NASA

Enhanced Cygnus Spacecraft Delivered Largest Commercial Cargo Load to Date

Company on Track for Fifth Cygnus Mission in March

Dulles, Virginia 22 February 2016 – Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced the successful completion of its fourth cargo delivery mission (OA-4) to the International Space Station (ISS), including the initial demonstration flight and three operational missions under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Orbital ATK’s Cygnus™ spacecraft delivered 7,700 pounds of cargo to the ISS, the largest cargo shipment to date by a commercial company.

The company is now preparing for its next cargo mission in March from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, using its enhanced Cygnus spacecraft to deliver vital supplies and experiments to the ISS. Two additional CRS missions scheduled later this year will launch aboard the company’s upgraded Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.

The Cygnus spacecraft that carried out the OA-4 mission unberthed from the ISS on February 19, completing a 72 day stay at the orbiting laboratory. Prior to its departure, the astronauts loaded the cargo module with approximately 3,000 pounds (over 1,400 kilograms) of items for disposal. Cygnus performed a safe, destructive reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean east of New Zealand on February 20 at approximately 11:00 a.m. (EST), marking the successful conclusion of the mission.

“Orbital ATK made history with the OA-4 mission, delivering a record amount of cargo by a commercial system to the ISS,” said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group. “From launch to our safe reentry, the entire Orbital ATK team performed flawlessly on every phase of this mission. We now turn our efforts toward final preparations for the next Cygnus cargo mission in March with a continued focus on supporting the needs of the crew members aboard the ISS.”

The OA-4 mission began on December 6, 2015, when a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket launched Cygnus into orbit from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Cygnus berthed with the ISS three days later, successfully delivering vital supplies and science experiments to the astronauts onboard.

Preparations are well underway for the company’s next CRS mission, known as OA-6. The Cygnus pressurized cargo and service modules for OA-6 have been mated and are being processed at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for integration with the ULA Atlas V rocket. Cygnus is scheduled to launch aboard the Atlas V in March from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Orbital ATK and ULA are targeting a launch date of March 22 for the mission pending final approval from the Eastern Range.

Following OA-6, Orbital ATK plans to resume cargo resupply missions with its enhanced Cygnus spacecraft and upgraded Antares launch vehicle from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. At least two CRS missions, OA-5 and OA-7, are scheduled to launch from MARS in the second and fourth quarters of this year.

By the end of 2018, Orbital ATK is scheduled to have completed 10 CRS missions and delivered approximately 59,000 pounds (26,800 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS. Beginning in 2019, the company will begin carrying out a minimum of six initial cargo missions under the recently awarded CRS-2 contract, continuing to support the needs of crew members aboard the ISS with mission success and schedule certainty.
Jacques :-)

Tags:
 

Advertisement NovaTech
Advertisement Northrop Grumman
Advertisement
Advertisement Margaritaville Beach Resort South Padre Island
Advertisement Brady Kenniston
Advertisement NextSpaceflight
Advertisement Nathan Barker Photography
0