-- Company s Upcoming Mission Is the First of Eight Operational Cargo
Delivery Missions for NASA Scheduled Over Next Three Years --
-- Mission Marks the Third Flight of Antares Rocket and Second
Deployment of Cygnus Spacecraft --
DULLES, Va.Jan. 7, 2014--
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world s leading
space technology companies, today announced that it is in final
preparations to launch the company s Antares rocket carrying its
Cygnus cargo spacecraft destined for the International Space Station
(ISS). Pending completion of final vehicle testing and acceptable local
weather conditions, the launch will take place on Wednesday, January 8,
with lift-off scheduled for 1:32 p.m. EST, and will originate from
NASA s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The Antares
medium-class rocket will boost the Cygnus spacecraft into a targeted
orbit of approximately 130 x 185 miles (210 x 298 kilometers) above the
Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to the equator. Following in-orbit
activation and testing after launch, Cygnus is slated to rendezvous and
berth with the Space Station in the early morning hours on Sunday,
January 12. Live coverage of the cargo supply mission will be available
on NASA Television and at http://www.nasa.gov/ntv.
Orbital conducted a very successful demonstration mission of the
Antares/Cygnus system last September, proving that the company can
reliably carry out regularly scheduled operational missions to the ISS
for NASA, said Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital s Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer. Now our team is focused on executing another
flawless launch and in-orbit operation to deliver much-needed supplies
to the astronaut crew on board the Space Station.
Under a $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with
NASA, Orbital will use Antares and Cygnus to deliver up to 44,000 pounds
(20,000 kilograms) of cargo to the ISS over eight missions through late
2016. For these missions, NASA will manifest a variety of essential
items based on ISS program needs, including food, clothing, crew
supplies, spare parts and equipment, and scientific experiments.
For the first CRS mission, the Cygnus spacecraft is carrying 2,780
pounds (1,260 kilograms) of supplies to the Space Station, including
science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition
38 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory, along with crew
provisions, spare parts and experiment hardware. Also aboard the flight
are 23 student experiments that will involve more than 8,600 elementary,
junior high and high school students from the United States and Canada.
These experiments address life sciences topics ranging from vaccine
effectiveness and amoeba reproduction to calcium loss in bones and
liquid behavior in space. This mission, together with future Cygnus
flights, will ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical
research equipment and samples to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's
ability to conduct new scientific investigations in the only laboratory
in microgravity.
Orbital privately developed the Antares launch vehicle to provide
low-cost, reliable access to space for medium-class payloads. It is the
largest and most complex rocket the company has ever produced. Under the
Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) joint research and
development initiative with NASA, Orbital also developed the Cygnus
spacecraft, which is an advanced maneuvering vehicle that meets the
stringent human-rated safety requirements for ISS operations. Together,
these products showcase Orbital s ability to apply rigorous engineering
approaches and commercial business practices to significantly shorten
development timelines and lower operational costs of sophisticated space
systems as compared to traditional government-run programs.
About Antares
The Antares medium-class launch vehicle represents a major increase in
the payload launch capability that Orbital can provide to NASA, the U.S.
Air Force and commercial customers. The Antares rocket launches
spacecraft weighing up to 14,000 pounds (6,400 kilograms) into low-Earth
orbit, as well as lighter-weight payloads into higher-energy orbits.
Orbital s newest launcher is currently on-ramped to both the NASA Launch
Services-2 and the U.S. Air Force s Orbital/Suborbital Program-3
contracts, enabling the two largest U.S. government space launch
customers to order Antares for right-size and right-price launch
services for medium-class spacecraft. For more information on Antares,
visit http://www.orbital.com/SpaceLaunch/Antares/.
About Cygnus
The Cygnus spacecraft consists of a common Service Module (SM) and a
Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM). The SM incorporates avionics, power and
propulsion systems already successfully flown aboard dozens of Orbital s
LEOStar and GEOStar satellite products. The PCM, designed and built by
Thales Alenia Space under a subcontract from Orbital, is based on the
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) used with the Space Shuttle. For
more information on Cygnus, visit http://www.orbital.com/NewsInfo/Publications/Cygnus_fact.pdf.
About Orbital
Orbital develops and manufactures small- and medium-class rockets and
space systems for commercial, military and civil government customers.
The company s primary products are satellites and launch vehicles,
including low-Earth orbit, geosynchronous-Earth orbit and planetary
exploration spacecraft for communications, remote sensing, scientific
and defense missions; human-rated space systems for Earth-orbit, lunar
and other missions; ground- and air-launched rockets that deliver
satellites into orbit; and missile defense systems that are used as
interceptor and target vehicles. Orbital also provides satellite
subsystems and space-related technical services to U.S. Government
agencies and laboratories. More information about Orbital can be found
at http://www.orbital.com.
Follow the company on Twitter @OrbitalSciences.
Source: Orbital Sciences Corporation
Orbital Sciences Corporation
Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528
Public
and Investor Relations
beneski.barron@orbital.com