Is there video of this?
Cygnus is a very spacious-looking module, swallowed up a couple of the ISS crew with no problems.
They could still stuff cargo bags down the middle of the PCM, right ?
When I saw the picture with the hatch open, I was wondering where all the cargo was. That PCM has just a ton of room inside, and this is the "small" model. They could still stuff cargo bags down the middle of the PCM, right ? Or is some sort of hold-down required before they can use that space ?
Quote from: Lurker Steve on 09/30/2013 06:39 pmWhen I saw the picture with the hatch open, I was wondering where all the cargo was. That PCM has just a ton of room inside, and this is the "small" model. They could still stuff cargo bags down the middle of the PCM, right ? Or is some sort of hold-down required before they can use that space ?This was in many ways a test flight and as noted, they "only" took up 700 kg on this flight; being a demo mission was one of the reasons. As the slides that Pete attached show, the Standard Cygnus can carry up to about 2000 kg. (Also with the other note that volume is as big a consideration as mass.)Last number I heard for the next mission was ~1350 kg. (As always, subject to change.)
Quote from: psloss on 09/30/2013 07:22 pmQuote from: Lurker Steve on 09/30/2013 06:39 pmWhen I saw the picture with the hatch open, I was wondering where all the cargo was. That PCM has just a ton of room inside, and this is the "small" model. They could still stuff cargo bags down the middle of the PCM, right ? Or is some sort of hold-down required before they can use that space ?This was in many ways a test flight and as noted, they "only" took up 700 kg on this flight; being a demo mission was one of the reasons. As the slides that Pete attached show, the Standard Cygnus can carry up to about 2000 kg. (Also with the other note that volume is as big a consideration as mass.)Last number I heard for the next mission was ~1350 kg. (As always, subject to change.)Also this launch used the last base Castor 30 upperstage, the next one will use the uprated B model.Edit: CRS-1&2 will use the Castor 30B, CRS-3 on will use the stretch Castor 30 XL
Equating to flying no less than three different version of the Antares launch vehicle on four flights. Man, if that other CRS service provider changed the specs of their upper stage as often as Orbital is planning to do, it would result in some very lively debates in that associated section of this forum.Fortunately this is Orbital and we have none of that forum baloney over here, thank goodness.
November 4 - ORS 3: STPSat 3, ORSES, ORS Tech 1, ORS Tech 2, Prometheus 1, Prometheus 2, Prometheus 3, Prometheus 4, SENSE 1, SENSE 2, Firefly, STARE B (Horus), NPS-SCAT, CSIP, Rampart, CAPE 2, KYSat 2, Lunar Orbiter&Lander CubeSat, SwampSat, Black Night 1, SPA-1 Trailblazer, TetherSat, DragonSat 1, COPPER, PhoneSat 2.0 - Minotaur I - MARS LP-0B - 23:30-02:30
December 8 - Cygnus Orb-1 (CRS1), Flock-1 (x28) - Antares-120 - MARS LP-0A
Let's not discuss that other vehicle's second stage issues over here.When there are 20+ objects to track after the next Antares launch, it will be due to the 28 cubesats that are riding along.
I could be wrong, but I don't think the next Antares will be carrying 20+ cube sats...QuoteDecember 8 - Cygnus Orb-1 (CRS1), Flock-1 (x28) - Antares-120 - MARS LP-0A
That is quite something... Half all all Wallops Satellites will launch this year!
Is OSC's mission control center required to provide 24x7 coverage for the duration of these COTS missions (e.g., the entire timeCygnus is berthed to the ISS, arrival, departure, etc.)? Thanks.
Quote from: joek on 10/05/2013 12:45 amIs OSC's mission control center required to provide 24x7 coverage for the duration of these COTS missions (e.g., the entire timeCygnus is berthed to the ISS, arrival, departure, etc.)? Thanks.There are people 24x7 in the Mission Operations Center. But the team is down to an handful of people as opposed to the 30 or so people prior to berthing.