The COTS demonstration mission was successfully conducted in September 2013, and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) program with two missions in 2014. Regrettably, the third operational mission, CRS Orb-3, was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch. The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion system. The Antares system has been upgraded with newly built RD-181 first-stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability.[5]
In the meantime, the company had contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of CRS OA-4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral, Florida and with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016.[5][6] The company had planned Cygnus missions for the first (CRS OA-5), second (CRS OA-6) and fourth quarters (Cygnus OA-7) of 2016. Two of these flew on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V. These three missions enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation.[6] This particular mission, is known as OA-8E, is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract enters in effect. It is called OA-8E rather than OA-8, because the switch to a mix of Atlas V and the more powerful Antares 230 enabled the company to cover its original contract with just 7 flights, even counting the Orb-3 failure, and thus the E indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport.[12]
Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles, Virginia. The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site, and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles, Virginia and Houston, Texas.[11]
The launch was previously scheduled for 10 November 2017 at 13:03 UTC before being moved to 11 November 2017 at 12:37:24 UTC. The 11 November 2017 launch attempt resulted in a twenty-four hour recycle due to a plane flying into the restricted area with less than a minute into the count. The Antares rocket launched the 8th Cygnus cargo vehicle on Sunday 12 November 2017 at 12:19:51 UTC.
This was the eighth of ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, and is considered an extension over the originally contracted flights. This was the fifth flight of the enhanced-sized Cygnus PCM.[6]
In an Orbital ATK tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft was named the S.S. Gene Cernan after one of NASA's Apollo astronauts, Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan (1934-2017), the last man (as of 2020) to walk on the Moon and one of only three humans to visit the Moon (in orbit or on the surface) twice.[13]
^Bergin, Chris (22 February 2012). "Space industry giants Orbital upbeat ahead of Antares debut". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 29 March 2012.
^ ab"Orbital ATK Team on Track for Fall 2015 Cygnus Mission and Antares Return to Flight in 2016". Orbital ATK. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
^(PDF). Orbital ATK. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 May 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^"Cygnus "S.S. Gene Cernan" En-Route to Space Station after Sunday Morning Commute to Orbit". Spaceflight101.com. 12 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^ abcGebhardt, Chris (14 August 2015). "Orbital ATK make progress toward Return To Flight of Antares rocket". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
^ abcdLeone, Dan (17 August 2015). "NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK". SpaceNews. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
^. Orbital ATK. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^ ab"Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Installed on ISS for Critical Supplies Delivery". Spaceflight101.com. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^"Cygnus OA-8 Cargo Craft Departs ISS after Three-Week Stay for CubeSat Deployment and Re-Entry". Spaceflight101.com. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
^ ab"Overview: Orbital ATK CRS-8 Mission" (PDF). NASA. Retrieved 22 April 2018. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ab(PDF). Orbital ATK. 24 March 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
^Leone, Dan (20 August 2015). "NASA Considering More Cargo Orders from Orbital ATK, SpaceX". SpaceNews. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
^(PDF). orbital ATK. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
cygnus, ninth, flight, orbital, uncrewed, resupply, spacecraft, cygnus, eighth, flight, international, space, station, under, commercial, resupply, services, contract, with, nasa, mission, launched, november, 2017, orbital, nasa, jointly, developed, space, tra. OA 8E was the ninth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eighth flight to the International Space Station ISS under the Commercial Resupply Services CRS 1 contract with NASA The mission launched on 12 November 2017 at 12 19 51 UTC Orbital and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station ISS Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation System COTS program then Orbital Sciences designed and built Antares a medium class launch vehicle Cygnus an advanced maneuvering spacecraft and a Pressurized Cargo Module which is provided by Orbital s industrial partner Thales Alenia Space 11 OA 8ECanadarm2 grapples the S S Gene CernanMission typeISS logisticsOperatorOrbital ATKCOSPAR ID2017 071ASATCAT no 43006Mission duration36 days 34 minutesSpacecraft propertiesSpacecraftS S Gene CernanSpacecraft typeEnhanced Cygnus 1 2 ManufacturerOrbital ATKThales AleniaLaunch mass6 172 kg 13 607 lb 3 Start of missionLaunch date12 November 2017 12 19 51 UTC 4 RocketAntares 230 2 5 6 Launch siteWallops Pad 0AContractorOrbital ATKEnd of missionDisposalDeorbitedDecay date18 December 2017 12 54 UTC 7 Orbital parametersReference systemGeocentric orbitRegimeLow Earth orbitInclination51 66 Berthing at the International Space StationBerthing portUnity nadirRMS capture14 November 2017 10 04 UTC 8 Berthing date14 November 2017 12 15 UTC 8 Unberthing date5 December 2017 17 52 UTCRMS release6 December 2017 13 11 UTC 9 Time berthed21 days 5 hours 37 minutesCargoMass3 338 kg 7 359 lb 10 Pressurised3 229 kg 7 119 lb Unpressurised109 kg 240 lb NASA insignia Commercial Resupply Services SpaceX CRS 12SpaceX CRS 13 Cygnus flights OA 7OA 9E Contents 1 History 2 Spacecraft 3 Manifest 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory edit nbsp Launch of Cygnus CRS OA 8E on 12 November 2017 The COTS demonstration mission was successfully conducted in September 2013 and Orbital commenced operational ISS cargo missions under the Commercial Resupply Service CRS program with two missions in 2014 Regrettably the third operational mission CRS Orb 3 was not successful due to spectacular Antares failure during launch The company decided to discontinue the Antares 100 series and accelerate the introduction of a new propulsion system The Antares system has been upgraded with newly built RD 181 first stage engines to provide greater payload performance and increased reliability 5 In the meantime the company had contracted with United Launch Alliance for an Atlas V launch of CRS OA 4 in late 2015 from Cape Canaveral Florida and with a second Atlas V Cygnus launch in 2016 5 6 The company had planned Cygnus missions for the first CRS OA 5 second CRS OA 6 and fourth quarters Cygnus OA 7 of 2016 Two of these flew on the new Antares 230 and one on the aforementioned second Atlas V These three missions enabled Orbital ATK to cover their initial CRS contracted payload obligation 6 This particular mission is known as OA 8E is part of an extension program that will enable NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services 2 CRS 2 contract enters in effect It is called OA 8E rather than OA 8 because the switch to a mix of Atlas V and the more powerful Antares 230 enabled the company to cover its original contract with just 7 flights even counting the Orb 3 failure and thus the E indicates that it actually is an extension above the originally contracted payload transport 12 Production and integration of Cygnus spacecraft is performed in Dulles Virginia The Cygnus service module is mated with the pressurized cargo module at the launch site and mission operations are conducted from control centers in Dulles Virginia and Houston Texas 11 The launch was previously scheduled for 10 November 2017 at 13 03 UTC before being moved to 11 November 2017 at 12 37 24 UTC The 11 November 2017 launch attempt resulted in a twenty four hour recycle due to a plane flying into the restricted area with less than a minute into the count The Antares rocket launched the 8th Cygnus cargo vehicle on Sunday 12 November 2017 at 12 19 51 UTC Spacecraft editMain article Cygnus spacecraft This was the eighth of ten flights by Orbital ATK under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA and is considered an extension over the originally contracted flights This was the fifth flight of the enhanced sized Cygnus PCM 6 In an Orbital ATK tradition this Cygnus spacecraft was named the S S Gene Cernan after one of NASA s Apollo astronauts Apollo 17 commander Eugene Cernan 1934 2017 the last man as of 2020 to walk on the Moon and one of only three humans to visit the Moon in orbit or on the surface twice 13 Manifest editTotal cargo mass 3 338 kg 7 359 lb 10 Pressured cargo with packaging 3 229 kg 7 119 lb Crew supplies 1 240 kg 2 730 lb Science investigations 740 kg 1 630 lb Spacewalk equipment 132 kg 291 lb Vehicle hardware 851 kg 1 876 lb Computer resources 34 kg 75 lb Unpressurized cargo 109 kg 240 lb See also editUncrewed spaceflights to the International Space StationReferences edit Bergin Chris 22 February 2012 Space industry giants Orbital upbeat ahead of Antares debut NASASpaceFlight com Retrieved 29 March 2012 a b Orbital ATK Team on Track for Fall 2015 Cygnus Mission and Antares Return to Flight in 2016 Orbital ATK 12 August 2015 Retrieved 12 August 2015 Cygnus OA 8 Mission Fact Sheet PDF Orbital ATK Archived from the original PDF on 25 May 2018 Retrieved 24 May 2018 Cygnus S S Gene Cernan En Route to Space Station after Sunday Morning Commute to Orbit Spaceflight101 com 12 November 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2018 a b c Gebhardt Chris 14 August 2015 Orbital ATK make progress toward Return To Flight of Antares rocket NASASpaceFlight com Retrieved 14 August 2015 a b c d Leone Dan 17 August 2015 NASA Orders Two More ISS Cargo Missions From Orbital ATK SpaceNews Retrieved 17 August 2015 Mission Update OA 8 Space Station Cargo Resupply Orbital ATK 18 December 2017 Archived from the original on 11 November 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2018 a b Cygnus Cargo Spacecraft Installed on ISS for Critical Supplies Delivery Spaceflight101 com 14 November 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2018 Cygnus OA 8 Cargo Craft Departs ISS after Three Week Stay for CubeSat Deployment and Re Entry Spaceflight101 com 6 December 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2018 a b Overview Orbital ATK CRS 8 Mission PDF NASA Retrieved 22 April 2018 nbsp This article incorporates text from this source which is in the public domain a b Cygnus Fact Sheet PDF Orbital ATK 24 March 2015 Archived from the original PDF on 26 September 2015 Retrieved 14 August 2015 Leone Dan 20 August 2015 NASA Considering More Cargo Orders from Orbital ATK SpaceX SpaceNews Retrieved 20 August 2015 S S Gene Cernan OA 8 Cargo Delivery Mission to the International Space Station PDF orbital ATK Archived from the original PDF on 26 October 2017 Retrieved 14 November 2017 Portal nbsp Spaceflight Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cygnus OA 8E amp oldid 1205841094, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
