NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Orbital Antares. Image Credit: Orbital
Orbital’s COTS operational system consists of an International Space Station (ISS) visiting vehicle, a new privately-developed medium-class launch vehicle, and all necessary mission planning and operations facilities and services.

Orbital is developing and qualifying a new launch vehicle (called Antares) to enable lower-cost COTS launches as well as future NASA science and exploration, commercial and national security space missions. Antares will leverage Orbital’s industry-leading experience in developing, building and operating small launch vehicles.

The image to the right is an artist's rendering of Orbital’s Antares space launch vehicle shown on the launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore preparing to launch the company’s CygnusTM cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station on a cargo mission for NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Service (COTS) program.

Please click on the link to learn more about Antares.

Antares Fact Sheet

Cygnus Fact Sheet

Cygnus Updates

Antares Home Page

Antares Overview

Animation of ISS Cargo Delivery mission







Orbital’s COTS Visiting Vehicle (CVV), called Cygnus, is made up of a common Service Module (SM) with interchangeable pressurized and unpressurized cargo modules. It is designed to provide the cargo with electrical power and heat dissipation for the duration of the mission. The CVV is compatible with Orbital’s Antares launch vehicle as well as other launchers such as the Delta IV and Atlas V EELVs. The CVV design is based on service module that interfaces with a cargo module.

The cargo module is a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM) similar to the flight-proven ISS Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) developed and built by Orbital's partner Thales-Alenia Space. Smaller and lighter than the MPLM, the PCM uses a Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) as the pressurized cargo transfer interface to the ISS. The SM is integrated and tested in Orbital’s Dulles, Virginia Satellite Manufacturing Facility (SMF), then shipped to Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) where Orbital personnel integrate it with the loaded cargo module and then integrate the combined Cygnus vehicle to the Antares launch vehicle. Orbital Cygnus. Image Credit: Orbital
Orbital’s CygnusTM cargo spacecraft is shown approaching the International Space Station in this artist’s rendering of the in-orbit operations of NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Service (COTS) program in the image to the right. .

Please click on the link to learn more about Orbital.

www.orbital.com



SAA Milestones

Milestone #	Description	Planned Date	Approved
1	Program Plan Review	Mar 08	Completed
2	Demo Mission SRR	Jun 08	Completed
3	Unpressurized Cargo Module PDR	Jul 08	Completed
5	COTS Integration/Operations Facility Review	Sep 08	Completed
6	Pressurized Cargo Module PDR	Oct 08	Completed
8	IP&CL Delivery	Feb 09	Completed
9	Complete Phase 1 SRP	Mar 09	Completed
10	COTS System PDR	Apr 09	Completed
11	Pressurized Cargo Module CDR	Jul 09	Completed
12	Cygnus Avionics Test	Aug 09	Completed
13	Complete Phase 2 SRP	Aug 09	Completed
14	COTS System CDR	Sep 09	Completed
15	Service Module Core Assembly Complete	Dec 09	Completed
16	Service Module TRR	Apr 10	Completed
17	Service Module Initial Performance Test Complete	Jul 10	Completed
18	Launch Vehicle Stage 1 Assembly Complete	Oct 10
19	Cargo Integration Demonstration	Dec 10	Completed
20	Mission Readiness Review	Feb 11
21	Demo Flight	Mar 11
22	Mission Concept Review	Dec 10	Completed
23	Antares Maiden Flight PMA	Feb 11	Completed
24	DR Cygnus Mass Simulator	Mar 11	Completed
25	Install Additional PITL Simulators	Apr 11	Completed
26	PROX FEU Test Unit	May 11	Completed
27	Antares Maiden Flight Sage 1 Core Delivery	Apr 11	Completed
28	Antares Maiden Flight Upper Stage Delivery	Jun 11	Completed
29	Antares Maiden Flight CMS Delivery	Jun 11	Completed
30	Antares Maiden Flight Stage 1 Assembly	Jul 11
31	Antares Maiden Flight	Oct 11