Antares - Cygnus NG-10 - November 17, 2018

[Olaf]

Are now any cubesats at all on this mission?

http://www.northropgrumman.com/Capabilities/Antares/Documents/NG-10_Factsheet.pdf

Once Cygnus is unberthed, a NanoRacks deployer will release three Cubesats from both above and below the station.

[ChrisGebhardt]

Bumping as I only got one PM.  If you have any questions for Frank and Kurt about Cygnus' upcoming NG-10 flight to ISS (including any questions about Antares), PM them to me.  Interview is at 16:00 EST (2100 UTC), so PM me your questions by 15:30 EST (2030 UTC).

[Rondaz]

Forecast for NG-10 Launch, 3 Days Out

Rob Garner Posted on November 12, 2018

The three-days-out launch range forecast has been issued for Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft on the company’s NG-10 resupply mission to the International Space Station, scheduled for 4:49 a.m EST on Nov. 15 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

An area of low pressure is expected to develop and bring rain showers to the Southeastern United States on Wednesday. These showers will quickly progress to the northeast on Wednesday night into early Thursday, drawing very close to Wallops by the launch window early Thursday morning. The timing of these showers will be key for determining weather suitability for launch Thursday.

The next launch range forecast will be issued Nov. 13.

The NG-10 mission’s Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed the SS John Young, after NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy officer John Young, is loaded with 7,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware.

Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 10:30 p.m. EST Nov. 14 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites. Launch coverage and commentary on NASA TV will begin at 4:15 a.m. EST Nov. 15.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/2018/11/12/forecast-for-ng-10-launch-3-days-out/

[Rondaz]

How to View Nov. 15 NG-10 Antares Launch

Rob Garner Posted on November 9, 2018

NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility and Virginia’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport are set to support the launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket, carrying the company’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station at 4:49 a.m. EST, Nov. 15.

The launch may be visible, weather permitting, to residents up and down the East Coast of the United States.

When accessed from a smartphone browser, the Wallops Mission Status Center website can provide specific viewing information based on your location. Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 10:30 p.m. Nov. 14 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites.

Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 10:30 p.m. EST Nov. 14 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites. Launch coverage and commentary on NASA TV will begin at 4:15 a.m. EST Nov. 15.

Full coverage details

For local launch-viewers, the NASA Visitor Center at Wallops opens at 1 a.m. on launch day for public viewing. Additional locations for catching the launch are Robert Reed Park on Chincoteague Island or Beach Road spanning the area between Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. Assateague Island National Seashore/Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia will not be open for viewing the launch.

Visitors are reminded that alcohol, pets and firearms are not allowed on the NASA Visitor Center grounds.

Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry about 7,200 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the space station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations.

Included in the cargo are investigations that will enable U.S. National Laboratory research, which is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. They include a physical sciences investigation to evaluate a method for producing fiber optic cable in space and astrophysics research to examine the formation of chondrules, some of the oldest material in the solar system.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/2018/11/09/how-to-view-nov-15-ng-10-antares-launch/

[Steven Pietrobon]

Here's the link to the Wallops Ustream site.

https://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-tv-wallops

[Svetoslav]

Images of the rollout have been posted: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/sets/72157703533988235/

[Rondaz]

Antares Rocket Arrives at Launch Pad

Rob Garner Posted on November 13, 2018

Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket with Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard is now at Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

The Antares was rolled out of the Horizontal Integration Facility at Wallops late in the evening on Nov. 12.

NASA commercial cargo provider Northrop Grumman is scheduled to launch its NG-10 resupply mission to the International Space Station at 4:49 a.m. EST Thursday, Nov. 15.

The NG-10 mission’s Cygnus spacecraft, dubbed the SS John Young, after NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy officer John Young, is loaded with 7,500 pounds of research, crew supplies and hardware.

Live coverage of the mission is scheduled to begin at 10:30 p.m. EST Nov. 14 on the Wallops video and audio Ustream sites. Launch coverage and commentary on NASA TV will begin at 4:15 a.m. EST Nov. 15.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/2018/11/13/antares-rocket-arrives-at-launch-pad/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

https://twitter.com/northropgrumman/status/1062359053081423873

[SkipMorrow]

When is the next weather update?

[Tomness]

When is the next weather update?

Should be pretty similar to SpaceX Falcon 9 : Es’hail-2 : NET Nov 15, 2018

Weather forecast 60% GO:

Launch day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 40%
Primary concern(s): Thick Cloud Layer Rule, Cumulus Cloud Rule
 
Delay day probability of violating launch weather constraints: 10%
Primary concern(s): Liftoff Winds

[zubenelgenubi]

L-2 Forecast: 30-Percent Favorable

The latest Wallops range forecast for the scheduled launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket on Nov. 15 puts weather at 30-percent favorable. At this time, the main weather concerns for a Thursday morning launch are thick clouds, disturbed weather and low cloud ceilings.

An area of low pressure will quickly develop on Wednesday over the Deep South, bringing rain showers to the Southeastern United States during the day. These showers will progress to the northeast on Wednesday night into early Thursday, likely arriving in the Wallops area by the time of the launch window.

After the launch window, rain will become heavy at times with increasing winds during the day on Thursday. Windy conditions will continue through Friday, with winds diminishing Friday night.

The Antares, with its International Space Station-bound Cygnus cargo spacecraft, is scheduled for liftoff at 4:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 15 from Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

***

If they can't launch on the 15th, when is the next available launch window?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

More photos posted by NASA

[blah]

If they can't launch on the 15th, when is the next available launch window?

The 17th.

[Svenry]

If they can't launch on the 15th, when is the next available launch window?

The 17th.

So there is no possibility of an attempt on the 16th, regardless of weather conditions?

[blah]

If they can't launch on the 15th, when is the next available launch window?

The 17th.

So there is no possibility of an attempt on the 16th, regardless of weather conditions?

That's my understanding from what I was told by someone attending as press. Being second-hand, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

[ChrisGebhardt]

If they can't launch on the 15th, when is the next available launch window?

The 17th.

So there is no possibility of an attempt on the 16th, regardless of weather conditions?

That's my understanding from what I was told by someone attending as press. Being second-hand, I'd take it with a grain of salt.

NGIS bosses yesterday in interview with me talked about opportunities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  24hr scrub turnaround is 100% possible.

[zubenelgenubi]

NGIS bosses yesterday in interview with me talked about opportunities on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Antares rocket transferred to Virginia launch pad for station resupply flight, Stephen Clark, dated Nov. 13

Weather conditions are not forecast to improve much for a backup launch opportunity available Friday, when meteorologists at Wallops predict a 65 percent chance of weather prohibiting liftoff, again due to clouds and an increasing chance of gusty winds.
<snip>
Conditions for a launch attempt Saturday could be much improved, with only a 5 percent chance of weather violating a launch weather rule.

[Rondaz]

Antares NG-10: What’s On Board?

Rob Garner Posted on November 13, 2018

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft is set to lift off aboard the company’s Antares rocket on Thursday, Nov. 15 at 4:49 a.m. EST (9:49 a.m. UTC) from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, Cygnus will carry about 7,500 pounds of crew supplies and hardware to the International Space Station, including science and research in support of dozens of research investigations.

Highlights of space station research that will be facilitated by investigations aboard this Cygnus include:

A test of the first integrated 3D printer and recycler to turn waste plastic materials into high-quality 3D-printer filament to create tools and materials, a key capability for future long-duration space missions beyond low-Earth orbit.

A small device that contains human cells in a 3D matrix represents a giant leap in the ability of scientists to test how those cells respond to stresses, drugs and genetic changes. About the size of a thumb drive, the devices are known as tissue chips or organs on chips.

The Tissue Chips in Space initiative seeks to better understand the role of microgravity on human health and disease and to translate that understanding to improved human health on Earth.

Many of the changes in the human body caused by microgravity resemble the onset and progression of diseases associated with aging on Earth, such as bone and muscle loss. But the space-related changes occur much faster. That means scientists may be able to use tissue chips in space to model changes that might take months or years to happen on Earth.

Higher Orbits’ “Go For Launch” student program is supplying an experiment that focuses on the evaluation of self-healing materials in microgravity, the work of students Spencer Harris, George Tang, Ryan Ferzoco, Tarun Golla and Abby Maltese.

An investigation into the complex process of cement solidification to explore how gravity levels like those on the Moon and Mars may potentially affect concrete hardening.

Research to develop a mathematical model for how an astronaut’s perception of motion, body position and distance to objects changes in space.

Included in the cargo are investigations that will enable U.S. National Laboratory research, which is managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space. They include an investigation to evaluate growth of protein crystals implicated in Parkinson’s disease and astrophysics research to examine the formation of chondrules, some of the oldest material in the solar system.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/2018/11/13/antares-ng-10-whats-on-board/

[Rondaz]

L-2 Forecast: 30-Percent Favorable

Rob Garner Posted on November 13, 2018

The latest Wallops range forecast for the scheduled launch of Northrop Grumman’s Antares rocket on Nov. 15 puts weather at 30-percent favorable. At this time, the main weather concerns for a Thursday morning launch are thick clouds, disturbed weather and low cloud ceilings.

An area of low pressure will quickly develop on Wednesday over the Deep South, bringing rain showers to the Southeastern United States during the day. These showers will progress to the northeast on Wednesday night into early Thursday, likely arriving in the Wallops area by the time of the launch window.

After the launch window, rain will become heavy at times with increasing winds during the day on Thursday. Windy conditions will continue through Friday, with winds diminishing Friday night.

The Antares, with its International Space Station-bound Cygnus cargo spacecraft, is scheduled for liftoff at 4:49 a.m. EST on Nov. 15 from Pad 0A of Virginia Space’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

https://blogs.nasa.gov/northropgrumman/2018/11/13/l-2-forecast-30-percent-favorable/

[Skyrocket]

Has anyone found a final list, which CubeSats will be on this launch - both in the external deployer as well as those internal?