spacetoday.net: Orbital selects Atlas 5 for Cygnus cargo launch

Posted: Thu, Dec 11, 2014, 9:26 AM ET (1426 GMT)
Cygnus approaching ISS illustration (Orbital Sciences Corp.)

Orbital Sciences Corp. said this week it will use a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket to launch a Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station next year as it develops an upgraded version of its own Antares rocket. An Atlas 5 rocket will launch the Cygnus from Cape Canaveral in the fourth quarter of 2015, with an option for a second such launch in 2016. Those launches will allow Orbital to continue to fulfill its NASA cargo delivery contract after its Antares rocket failed shortly after launch in October. Orbital said it is developing an upgraded version of Antares with different first stage engines that will be ready by the first quarter of 2016. That Antares will be used to launch three cargo missions in 2016 to complete the company's contract with NASA.