-- Orbital-Sponsored TJ Sat Developed by Students from the
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria,
Virginia --
-- Company s Volunteer Engineers Provided Mentorship and Technical
Support to Students --
DULLES, Va.Nov. 13, 2013--
Orbital
Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB), one of the world s leading space
technology companies, will launch the first satellite designed and built
by high school students into Earth orbit aboard a Minotaur I rocket next
week. The small satellite, known as TJCubeSat (TJ Sat), will be launched
aboard the U.S. Air Force s ORS-3 mission as one of more than two dozen
secondary payloads the Minotaur rocket will carry into orbit. The
mission is scheduled to take place from the Mid-Atlantic Regional
Spaceport located at NASA s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia.
The launch is currently scheduled for Tuesday, November 19, 2013, at
approximately 7:30 p.m. (EST).
The TJ Sat is a small-size CubeSat developed, built and tested by
students from the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology in Alexandria, Virginia. Over the past several years,
volunteers from Orbital s technical staff mentored the student team and
provided engineering oversight, while the company made its space testing
facilities available and provided financial support for the satellite
project. TJ Sat was assigned to the ORS-3 mission launch through NASA s
Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) program based on launch
manifest availability.
Since the beginning of the TJ Sat program, Orbital has purchased flight
hardware and contributed mentors and advice throughout the process, as
well as assistance with final testing prior to launch, said Mr. David
W. Thompson, Orbital s President and Chief Executive Officer. We are
thrilled to see the hard work and dedicated efforts of the students at
Thomas Jefferson High School come to fruition and look forward to the
educational benefits this satellite will bring to other students around
the world.
The TJ Sat project was conceived as a method to interest students around
the world in space-related science, technology, engineering and math
(STEM) education. TJ Sat utilizes the CubeSat standard design developed
by Stanford University and California Polytechnic State University. The
cube-shaped satellite measures approximately 3.9x3.9x4.5 inches
(10x10x12 centimeters) and has a mass of about 2.0 pounds (0.89
kilograms). The TJ Sat s payload is a phonetic voice synthesizer that
converts strings of text to voice. Once converted, the voice is
transmitted back to Earth over amateur radio frequencies. Students from
around the world can submit text strings to be uploaded to the satellite
for transmission. The satellite s design and operations data is public,
enabling students from other countries to use it freely.
This partnership between our school and Orbital has allowed the
students to gain valuable real-world experience in aerospace engineering
and related disciplines, which will serve them well as they continue on
their future careers, said Dr. Evan Glazer, Principal of Thomas
Jefferson High School.
About Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology
Established in 1985, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and
Technology is the result of a partnership of businesses and schools
created to improve education in science, mathematics and technology.
Representatives from business and industry and staff of the Fairfax
County Public Schools worked together in curriculum design and
facilities development for the school. In 1999, local business leaders
and Thomas Jefferson parents formed the Thomas Jefferson
Partnership Fund, a non-profit foundation, to help raise private
financial support to maintain and equip labs and classrooms in the
school. As the Governor s School for Science and Technology in Northern
Virginia, the school is also supported by the Virginia
Department of Education. In addition to providing a specialized
education for selected students in Fairfax County, Jefferson also serves
other school districts including Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William
counties as well as the cities of Fairfax and Falls Church.
About the Minotaur I Rocket
Employing a combination of U.S. government-supplied rocket motors and
Orbital s proven commercial launch technologies, the Minotaur I rocket,
as well as the other configurations in the Minotaur family of launchers,
provides reliable and low-cost access to space for government-sponsored
payloads. Minotaur rockets are specifically designed to be capable of
launching from all major U.S. spaceports, including government and
commercial launch sites in Alaska, California, Virginia and Florida.
Orbital s use of standardized avionics and subsystems, mature processes
and experienced personnel make Minotaur rockets both reliable and
cost-effective for U.S. government customers.
About the ORS-3 Mission
The ORS-3 Mission, also known as the Enabler Mission, will demonstrate
launch and range improvements to include automated vehicle trajectory
targeting, range safety planning, and flight termination; employ a
commercial-like procurement with FAA licensing of a Minotaur I; and
launch the Air Force s Space Test Program Satellite-3 and 28 CubeSats on
an Integrated Payload Stack. These enablers not only focus on the
ability to execute a rapid call-up mission, they also automate
engineering tasks that once took months and reduce those timelines to
days or hours, resulting in decreased mission costs.
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
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 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