Antares rolled out to Wallops launch pad
Posted: Tue, Oct 2, 2012, 6:04 AM ET (1004 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation formally began operations at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Monday by rolling out an Antares rocket stage to the launch pad. the Antares first stage will be used for tests on the launch pad, including a hot-fire test of the rocket's AJ26 rocket engines in four to five weeks. That test will be followed in about a month by the first Antares launch, carrying a demonstration payload. Orbital developed the Antares rocket and the Cygnus spacecraft to transport cargo to the International Space Station under a COTS award from NASA; Orbital also has a contract for eight cargo missions to the ISS. Handover of the new launch pad at MARS, located on Wallops Island, Virginia, had been delayed by months in order to complete work on the new launch facility.
Orbital Sciences Corporation formally began operations at Virginia's Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Monday by rolling out an Antares rocket stage to the launch pad. the Antares first stage will be used for tests on the launch pad, including a hot-fire test of the rocket's AJ26 rocket engines in four to five weeks. That test will be followed in about a month by the first Antares launch, carrying a demonstration payload. Orbital developed the Antares rocket and the Cygnus spacecraft to transport cargo to the International Space Station under a COTS award from NASA; Orbital also has a contract for eight cargo missions to the ISS. Handover of the new launch pad at MARS, located on Wallops Island, Virginia, had been delayed by months in order to complete work on the new launch facility.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Saturday, March 21
Seven scientific benefits of ESA’s Genesis mission
ESA — 9:33 am ET (1333 GMT) Ukraine Is Suddenly on the Offensive, With Help From Elon Musk
Wall Street Journal — 9:32 am ET (1332 GMT) Starlink Has Privatized Geopolitics
Foreign Policy — 9:30 am ET (1330 GMT) SpaceX rocket blasts off from Vandenberg
San Luis Obispo (CA) Tribune — 9:29 am ET (1329 GMT) Key Space Force C2 Upgrade Still Faces Issues: Pentagon Report
Air and Space Forces Magazine — 9:28 am ET (1328 GMT) |
