Mission type ISS resupply Launch site MARS LP-0A Reference system Geocentric Launch date 6 July 2017 Spacecraft type Cygnus | Rocket Antares 230 Contractor Orbital ATK Regime Low Earth Operator NASA | |
Manufacturers Thales Alenia Space, Orbital ATK Similar Kounotori 7, Cygnus, Progress M‑50, Progress M‑51, Hispasat AG1 | ||
Cygnus CRS OA-8E, also known as Orbital Sciences CRS Flight 8E, is the ninth planned flight of the Orbital ATK unmanned resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eighth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station (ISS). Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) program, then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares, a medium-class launch vehicle; Cygnus, an advanced maneuvering spacecraft, and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital's industrial partner Thales Alenia Space.
Contents
History
The COTS demonstration mission was successfully conducted in September 2013, and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. Regrettably, the third operational mission, Orb CRS-3, resulted was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion. The Antares system will be upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability.
In the meantime, the company has contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of CRS OA-4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral, FL, with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016. The company has planned Cygnus missions for the first (CRS OA-5), second (CRS OA-6) and fourth quarters (CRS OA-7) of 2016. Two of which will fly on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V. These three missions will enable Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation. This particular mission, is known as OA-8E, is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract enters in effect. It is called OA-8E rather than OA-8, because the switch to a mix of Atlas V and the more powerful Antares 230 enabled the company to cover its original contract with just 7 flights, even counting the Orb-3 failure, and thus the E indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport.
Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, VA. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles and Houston.
Spacecraft
This is the eighth of ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, and its considered an extension over the originally contracted flights. This will be the fifth flight of the Enhanced sized Cygnus PCM. The mission is expected to launch on July 6, 2017.
Manifest
Total weight of cargo: up to 3,200 kg (7,100 lb).
Other ORB projects
After OA-7 planned for March 2017 and OA-8E for July 6, 2017, NASA has tentatively scheduled OA-9E in December 2017 and OA-10E and OA-11E in 2018.