-- Company Completes Third Successful Antares Launch in the Past Nine
Months --
DULLES, Va.Jan. 9, 2014--
Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world s leading
space technology companies, today announced it successfully launched its
Antares medium-class rocket carrying the first of eight Cygnus cargo
logistics spacecraft missions to the International Space Station (ISS)
as part of its $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract
with NASA. The launch of Orbital s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo
logistics spacecraft will culminate in rendezvous and berthing with the
ISS on Sunday, January 12 at approximately 6:00 a.m. (EST). Cygnus will
deliver approximately 2,780 lbs. (1,260 kg.) of cargo to the Expedition
38 astronauts and remain attached to the station until February 18
before departing with approximately 2,800 lbs. (1,300 kg.) of disposable
cargo for a safe, destructive reentry over the Pacific Ocean.
Lift-off of Orbital s Antares rocket occurred today at 1:07 p.m. (EST)
from NASA s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. Following a
10-minute ascent, the Cygnus spacecraft was successfully deployed by the
Antares upper stage and placed into its intended orbit of about 135 x
175 miles (220 X 280 km) above the Earth, inclined at 51.6 degrees to
the equator. Approximately 25 minutes later, Orbital s engineering team
confirmed that reliable communications had been established and that the
solar arrays were fully deployed, providing the necessary electrical
power to command the spacecraft.
It was another excellent launch of Antares, and so far, our first CRS
mission is off to a great start with Cygnus operating exactly as
anticipated at this early stage of the mission, said Mr. David W.
Thompson, Orbital s President and Chief Executive Officer. Our team has
put in a lot of hard work to get to the point of performing regular ISS
cargo delivery trips for NASA. It s an exciting day for all of us and
I m looking forward to completing this and our future CRS missions
safely and successfully for our NASA customer.
Under a $1.9 billion 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.
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 will provide 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 will launch
spacecraft weighing up to 14,000 lbs. 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
Orbital developed the Cygnus cargo spacecraft as part of its COTS joint
research and development initiative with NASA. Cygnus 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