Cygnus Restarts Cargo Runs to the Space Station After Antares Rocket Explosion

The Cygnus spacecraft is back in gyration for cargo runs to the International Space Station for the first prison term since the premature spacecraft was demolish duringthe Antares roquette explosion in October 2014 . The cargo craft will establish on an Atlas quintuplet rocket salad in December , resuming flights while the Antares projectile continues safety upgrades .

Cygnus loaded with shipment prior to the destine launching in October 2014 . Image credit : NASA / Patrick Black

The space vehicle will hale some 3,600 kilograms ( 4 tons ) of material in a pressurized cargo mental faculty to the International Space Station in December 2015 . This is thefourth Commercial Resupply Services consignment guide by Orbital Sciences(OA-4 ) .

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The Cygnus spacecraft is developed and produced by Orbital Sciences . Historically , it has always launched on an Orbital Antares rocket , but that rocket is still establish for safety upgrades following the unscheduled rapid disassembly last fall . or else , the Cygnus will be launched by a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket . It will also be launch from a new pad — Cape Canaveral instead of the still - being - repaired pad at Wallops Flight Facility .

Cygnus service module with Ultraflex solar array . icon cite : NASA

The uncrewed , unpiloted spacecraft will be the quaternary operational mission for Cygnus . This will also be the first launch of the Enhanced Cygnus , a limiting of the freight tug with a large cargo module and a more aggregated - effective service mental faculty . It will comport 1,300 kg ( 3,00 Pound ) more than the original model of the spacecraft for a total of 3,600 kilo ( 8,000 pounds ) of experiment , equipment , and supplies to the infinite post . The religious service faculty that bring home the bacon world power , counsel , and control will have a new lightweight exponent arrangement and Ultraflex solar arrays .

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The pressurized segment of the space vehicle is currently at Kennedy Launch Center , and is being audit to underwrite it is ready for freight installment and trajectory . It will be connected to the service faculty in October , undergoing final integration and examination before launching in early December . Three - quarter of the cargo will be packed into Cygnus by October , with the remaining material loaded just two weeks before launch to allow for a bite of tractability .

Cargo container holding the Cygnus pressurized cargo faculty at the Space Station Processing Facility at Kennedy . simulacrum credit : NASA / Kim Shiflett

After launching , the craft will direct itself within reach ofthe Canadarmon the space station . The robotic arm will comprehend the craft , pulling it into the place and safely docking it . After astronauts put down the payload , they will refill Cygnus over several week with refuse and other disposable items . When the spacecraft is full of junk , it will be free from the space station and sent on course toburn up during reentry as a fervid refuse day .

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This will be the second endeavor at the quaternary cargo run by the Cygnus spacecraft after the late spacecraft was destroyed in a rocket salad explosion . Three additional missionary work are tentatively scheduled for 2016 : one using an ULA Atlas quint roquette , and the other two using the upgrade Antares rocket .

A pair of R-181 engines being integrated with the Antares rocket first stage . Image credit : NASA

In the backwash of understanding what bump during the unscheduled rapid disassembly of the Antares Rocket during the October launch , Orbital settle to upgrade the rocket with unexampled engines and modifying the first stage core . The modified rocket is still undergo testing and credential , but is gestate to start flight of steps operations in spring 2016 .

Photo: Jae C. Hong

New RD-181 engines are replacingthe AJ-26 locomotive suspected of being the crusade of the launch mishapandsubsequent explosion . The new engines bring forth high specific nervous impulse and spare thrust than the previous engines , which will increase the warhead electrical capacity of the rocket . The engines have passed individual tests , and are being integrate into the rocket engine along with unexampled propellent provender pedigree and first stage avionics systems for red-hot flack testing this winter .

The RD-181 engine is the next generation of the RD-191 engine , which is presently used on the Russian Angara rocket . Both are based on the RD-171 and RD-180 engines used on the Zenit and Atlas V rocket .

The Commercial Resupply Services contract between Orbital Sciences and NASA take that Orbital carriesa specific weighting of payload to the space station , not dispatch a fixed issue of flight . increase the lading of each launch will enable Orbital to make up for the cargo lose during the October explosion .

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New RD-181 main engines are replacing the old AJ-26 engine suspected of cause the launch explosion in October 2014 . Image credit : NASA / Joel Kowsky

The explosion damage Pad 0A at the Mid - Atlantic Regional Spaceport ( MARS ) at Wallops Island . The explosion damage the conveyer belt erector launcher and lightning inhibition pole , give way windows and imploded door in funding buildings , and demolish a nearby vocalise roquette rocket launcher . Debris from the rocket and its payload also need extensive cleanup .

The pad is being repair and advance with a fresh hydraulic system to rear rocket salad on the pad . The launching pad should be ready by the remainder of September , and will be the site of hot attack testing of the Antares rocket in late 2015 or former 2016 .

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