First Pressurized Cargo Module assembly underway in Torino - basic welded structure completed.
When is the first orbital test launch scheduled?
A quick status on Cygnus.Passed ISS Phase II safety review.Wrapped up the CDR series (which began Nov 2009).First Pressurized Cargo Module assembly underway in Torino - basic welded structure completed.Will provide pictures as I get them.We plan to have a full-scale mockup of a Cygnus spacecraft (Service Module plus a Pressurized Cargo Module) at the National Space Symposium at the Broadmore in Colorado Springs which starts Moday April 12 (by the way, we're sponsoring the opening fireworks...)If you happen to be at the NSS, you can't miss it: it will be by the lake, to the right of the bridge that crosses the lake.
Will Cygnus be used for reboost?
(Is it just me, or does it look like a giant beer keg with solar panels bolted on? Hmmm beer... )
Comparisons in pressurized volume (m^3):Cygnus = 18.7 Orion CM = 14.75Dragon = 10 Progress = 7.6 ATV = 48HTV = 30?MPLM = 31Soyuz (OM + DM) = 10Apollo CM = 5.9Shuttle = 71.5ISS = 1000 (approx)
Quote from: bad_astra on 04/29/2010 08:17 pmWill Cygnus be used for reboost?
Good question! Also, is a fuel-only cygnus possible, which can be used as a tug?
And if you add a remote manipulator arm...
I wonder about the heritage of the Cygnus pressurized section. Does Alena produce any other system with the same diameter?Yes, I know that Alenia makes MPLMs, but they have a much larger diameter.
Careful... not all the volume is dedicated to pressurized cargo - some have equipment in the pressurized volume - and some of that is lost on the hatch mechanism/opening swept volume and the "free space" (space for the astronauts to get inside and get the cargo out - hint: Progress has NO free space: you unload it from the top down...)You may be interested in this old presentation from the early Cygnus design days. ...