DULLES, Va. - Orbital ATK, Inc. has shipped the Cygnus spacecraft’s service module to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the next International Space Station (ISS) cargo mission, scheduled to launch on Thursday, December 3. The OA-4 mission milestone marks a key step forward as Orbital ATK continues its cargo delivery service to the ISS for NASA under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.
The Cygnus spacecraft will be assembled at Kennedy and launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The mission serves as the first flight of the enhanced variant of the Cygnus spacecraft, capable of delivering more than 7,700 pounds of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to astronauts on board the ISS.
The service module, which houses the spacecraft’s avionics, electrical, propulsion and communications systems, will integrate with an extended pressurized cargo module (PCM) already in place at the Kennedy Space Center. The PCM’s capability to deliver larger volumes of cargo to the station aboard the powerful Atlas V provides even greater support to NASA’s continued research and utilization of the International Space Station. The spacecraft will also use the latest in lightweight space-qualified power system technology with the addition of the company’s Ultraflex solar arrays. OA-4 marks the first mission to use the Ultraflex solar arrays which were produced by Orbital ATK’s Space Components Division.
Final assembly, cargo loading and fueling of the Cygnus spacecraft will take place at the Kennedy Space Center prior to its integration with the Atlas V rocket. Like most Orbital ATK spacecraft, Cygnus is designed to be compatible with multiple launch vehicles. This capability supports NASA’s requirements for additional cargo and also provides better schedule assurance for future missions.
Orbital ATK suffered a setback last year when its Antares launch vehicle exploded shortly after liftoff while attempting to deliver a Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS. However, the company has worked quickly to rectify the situation. It will use the Atlas V to carry supplies to the ISS while it upgrades the Antares. The new Antares, with a new first stage motor, is expected to be more reliable, allowing Orbital ATK to continue flights into the future.
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