Author Topic: COTS Award Announcement Thread (Read 77939 times)

mr.columbus · « **Reply #20 on:** 02/19/2008 08:13 pm »

Very interesting that a US-European partnership has won. And nice to see that the MPLM design knowledge is now put to new use.

abehnam · « **Reply #21 on:** 02/19/2008 08:17 pm »

Congrats to Orbital! I hope the Taurus II is built with as little headache as possible. I'm sure Dr. Elias will be on here later today or tomorrow to fill in some of our many questions. Good luck to the contractors not selected.

wannamoonbase · « **Reply #22 on:** 02/19/2008 08:17 pm »

Interesting to see their schedule and execution.

stockman · « **Reply #23 on:** 02/19/2008 08:22 pm »

Orbital has their press release up on their web site.

http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/release.asp?prid=644

edkyle99 · « **Reply #24 on:** 02/19/2008 08:22 pm »

Someone ask where the launch site will be located! I'm wondering if it will be in Florida.

EDIT - I see from OSC's press release that it will be Wallops Island!!!

And the spacecraft that will fly atop Taurus II will be named "Cygnus"!!!

- Ed Kyle

TR1 · « **Reply #25 on:** 02/19/2008 08:24 pm »

Press release on Orbital's website says early missions will be from Wallops

NotGncDude · « **Reply #26 on:** 02/19/2008 08:31 pm »

Congrats to Orbital! COTS gets more interesting!

antonioe · « **Reply #27 on:** 02/19/2008 08:32 pm »

Thanks for the congratulations, guys... I'm listening in myself...

edkyle99 · « **Reply #28 on:** 02/19/2008 08:33 pm »

Quote

antonioe - 19/2/2008 3:32 PM

Thanks for the congratulations, guys... I'm listening in myself...

Antonio, you get to sleep tonight!

Did you get to name the spacecraft?

- Ed Kyle

PhalanxTX · « **Reply #29 on:** 02/19/2008 08:34 pm »

Pretty pictures!

http://www.orbital.com/images/Low/TaurusII_Wallops.jpg

http://www.orbital.com/images/Low/COTS_Approach.jpg

antonioe · « **Reply #30 on:** 02/19/2008 08:41 pm »

Quote

edkyle99 - 19/2/2008 3:33 PM Antonio, you get to sleep tonight! Did you get to name the spacecraft? - Ed Kyle

Well, that was a surprise "gift" from DWT...

AntiKev · « **Reply #31 on:** 02/19/2008 08:42 pm »

Wow, the external carrier allows them to carry large ORUs. That's surprising from everything else I've been hearing.

I didn't think that Dragon was planned to carry something that large.

Mark Max Q · « **Reply #32 on:** 02/19/2008 08:46 pm »

Orbityal's site's crashed lol.

PhalanxTX · « **Reply #33 on:** 02/19/2008 08:47 pm »

Congrats to everyone at Orbital. I look forward to seeing Cygnus fly.

edkyle99 · « **Reply #34 on:** 02/19/2008 08:47 pm »

Mentioned by a reporter in the press conference, OSC will get stage one tanks from Yuzhnoye Design Office, Ukraine. Zenit tank manufacturer. As previously noted, Taurus II will the be same diameter as Zenit 2/3.

- Ed Kyle

antonioe · « **Reply #35 on:** 02/19/2008 08:48 pm »

I just checked (from the "outside") and it's up

stockman · « **Reply #36 on:** 02/19/2008 08:49 pm »

interesting... some of the tanks on this thing will be supplied by a Ukrainian supplier. Sounds to me like something specific like that makes that supplier right in the critical path of manufacturing this thing. I guess Canadian Money is no good for RPK but Ukrainian tanks are ok for Orbital??? confusing..

mr.columbus · « **Reply #37 on:** 02/19/2008 08:51 pm »

How is a Ukrainian supplier different from a Canadian supplier? Despite some disputes with Russia over natural gas prices, it is quite a stable country and the Zenit manufacturer is a quite a reliable and commercially sound company.

Herb Schaltegger · « **Reply #38 on:** 02/19/2008 08:51 pm »

Wasn't the SeaLaunch Zenit failure in Feb 07 traced to contamination in the LOX tank?

edkyle99 · « **Reply #39 on:** 02/19/2008 08:52 pm »

Quote

Herb Schaltegger - 19/2/2008 3:51 PM

Wasn't the SeaLaunch Zenit failure in Feb 07 traced to contamination in the LOX tank?

No. Procedural changes were focused on engine handling processes at the engine qualification static test site.

- Ed Kyle