Author Topic: LIVE: Atlas V 401 - Cygnus OA-4 (CRS-4) - December 6, 2015 (21:44 UTC)  (Read 238801 times)

Offline woods170

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Good luck to ULA with this mission, ISS missions seem to be poison for LVs recently.
As with the string of launch mishaps in 1986, this is just coincidence. Every launch vehicle will eventually have a bad day. A good opportunity to learn (once again) that space is hard.
« Last Edit: 06/29/2015 06:44 am by woods170 »

Offline Hog

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Good luck to ULA with this mission, ISS missions seem to be poison for LVs recently.
As with the string of launch mishaps in 1986, this is just coincidence. Every launch vehicle will eventually have a bad day. A good opportunity to learn (once again) that space is hard.
Yes 1986 was a bad year for launch vehicles.  This string of 3 failed ISS bound LV's within 8 months is making ISS planners take note.  I hope all the future LV's including ORB-4 pull up to 17,500mph without a hitch.

Last I heard a flight certified EMU was about US$10,400,00.
Paul

Offline mtakala24

AFAIK only SpaceX got a rack to both go up to and come down from the ISS for NASA space suits.

Off-topic, but that rack was also lost with the CRS-7. Now, who owns the design for that rack, and was it Dragon specific.....

Offline Chris Bergin

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Offline baldusi

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Updating things....
http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/08/orb-4-cygnus-set-atlas-v-ride-ahead-antares-return/

Nathan Koga with the stunning render out of L2 :)
Slight correction, the RD-181 is more closely related to the RD-191 than the RD-193. Antares 100 used the NK-33 (which had not TVC) with a TVC supplied by AeroJet. The RD-193 was a proposed replacement for the NK-33-1 on Soyuz-2.1v that is also fixed (it uses the RD-0110R vernier). But since OrbitalATK is ditching AeroJet, the RD-181 does, in fact, includes a TVC supplied by NPO Energomash. I'm assuming that it is actually RD-191's. But could be wrong.
But Anatoly Zak's article does mentions the RD-191 rather than the RD-193 and does states that it is the only one without a TVC.
« Last Edit: 08/07/2015 04:29 pm by baldusi »

Offline MattMason

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ORB-4 won't use an Expanded Cygnus, correct? I couldn't find any mention of that in this thread. I presume the Extended modules are to come when Antares is on RTF.

Rockets are hard. Hindsight about a Falcon lifting a Cygnus shortly after ORB-3 but before CRS-7 makes me happy that space officials don't always listen to all of our "bright ideas."  ::)
"Why is the logo on the side of a rocket so important?"
"So you can find the pieces." -Jim, the Steely Eyed

Offline baldusi

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ORB-4 won't use an Expanded Cygnus, correct? I couldn't find any mention of that in this thread. I presume the Extended modules are to come when Antares is on RTF.

Rockets are hard. Hindsight about a Falcon lifting a Cygnus shortly after ORB-3 but before CRS-7 makes me happy that space officials don't always listen to all of our "bright ideas."  ::)
Wasn't CRS-4 already an Expanded Cygnus? Besides, using anything shorter than a three segment PCM on an Atlas V would be a waste of performance. I would have done two flights with 4 segment. That would have allowed them to really get ahead with the contract.

Offline ZachS09

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Yes; Cygnus CRS Orb-4 is an Extended Module (stretched to hold more cargo). It will stay this way for the rest of the Cygnus missions currently planned.
Liftoff for St. Jude's! Go Dragon, Go Falcon, Godspeed Inspiration4!

Offline sdsds

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Will an Atlas launch to ISS use a single Centaur burn, or two? Either seems plausible given the attached performance chart.
— 𝐬𝐝𝐒𝐝𝐬 —

Offline Newton_V

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Will an Atlas launch to ISS use a single Centaur burn, or two? Either seems plausible given the attached performance chart.

Since the ISS altitude is ~400 km, I would think there is no benefit to doing a 2 burn mission profile.

Offline arachnitect

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Will an Atlas launch to ISS use a single Centaur burn, or two? Either seems plausible given the attached performance chart.

Since the ISS altitude is ~400 km, I would think there is no benefit to doing a 2 burn mission profile.

Antares dropped Cygnus off in a ~250km x 300km initial orbit. Atlas may target a higher initial orbit, but I doubt they're going straight to station altitude.

Offline Skyrocket

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This mission is also planned to carry three cubesats for NASA (CADRE, MinXSS, STMSat 1) and up to 42 Flock-2e cubesats for Planet Labs, all to be deployed from the ISS.

Offline PahTo

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If I'm not mistaken, this will mark the first time an RL-10 has been used to launch a payload to ISS.  Hopefully sooner than later we'll see a pair of them used regularly for ISS missions (a-hem)...

Offline Scylla

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Cygnus Pressurized Module Arrives for Launch Processing

The pressurized cargo module of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday at 7:20 p.m. to begin processing ahead of a launch slated for Dec. 3 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Teams of Orbital ATK and NASA engineers will inspect the module in the coming days and then ready it for loading.

The cylindrical cargo module, which will carry about four tons of research materials and supplies for the International Space Station, will be joined in October to the Cygnus’ service module. The service module houses a pair of power-generating solar arrays along with a maneuvering thruster and instrumentation for the automated spacecraft. The spacecraft will guide itself to within reach of the station’s 57-foot-long robotic arm. The arm will pull the Cygnus to a connecting point on the station so astronauts can unload the spacecraft. At the end of the mission, the Cygnus will be released from the station to safely burn up in the atmosphere.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2015/08/11/cygnus-pressurized-module-arrives-for-launch-processing/
I reject your reality and substitute my own--Doctor Who

Offline rayleighscatter

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4 tons is quite significant. ORB-2 carried 3,600lbs up, the ORB-3 attempted 5,000lbs. This flight will be 8,000lbs.

Offline TrevorMonty

4 tons is quite significant. ORB-2 carried 3,600lbs up, the ORB-3 attempted 5,000lbs. This flight will be 8,000lbs.
That explains why they don't need an extra flight to make up for ORB-3. The Atlas extra performance may have lot to do with increase in payload mass.
This is the enhanced Cygnus 27m3 compared to standard at 18.9m3.
The CastorXL upper stage on  existing Antares allowed extra 700kg ie 2000 to 2700kg. Switching to RD181 engines should increase this >2700kg, maybe not to 4000kg.

Orbital hinted at a new liquid upper stage (BE3 powered), this would allow Cygnus to be stretched again and lift some serious payloads.

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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a Few pictures from here:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/cygnus-segment-arrives-to-begin-processing-for-iss-resupply-mission

Funny that they could use the SSPF, thought they had to use a commercial facility as it is a commercial flight (maybe astrotech doesnt handle the ISS cargo loading?)

Anyhow, while the graphic shows a "regular" PCM, still know that it will be the first extended one

Offline russianhalo117

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a Few pictures from here:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/cygnus-segment-arrives-to-begin-processing-for-iss-resupply-mission

Funny that they could use the SSPF, thought they had to use a commercial facility as it is a commercial flight (maybe astrotech doesnt handle the ISS cargo loading?)

Anyhow, while the graphic shows a "regular" PCM, still know that it will be the first extended one
shipping container has been reused for every PCM.

Offline rayleighscatter

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Funny that they could use the SSPF, thought they had to use a commercial facility as it is a commercial flight (maybe astrotech doesnt handle the ISS cargo loading?)
KSC has been trying hard to find commercial uses for underutilized facilities, maybe that includes short term use of part of the SSPF.

Offline Jim

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CYGNUS supports the ISS program and the SSPF is an ISS asset, so......

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