Cygnus Orb-3

Last updated

Orbital-3
Antares Orb-3 launch failure (201410280009HQ).jpg
One of the Antares 130's AJ26 engines ruptures, fifteen seconds into the flight.
Mission type ISS logistics
Operator Orbital
Mission duration
  • 1 month (planned)
  • 23 seconds (final)
Spacecraft properties
SpacecraftS.S. Deke Slayton
Spacecraft type Standard Cygnus [1]
Manufacturer
Launch mass7,594 kg (16,742 lb) [2]
Payload mass2,215 kg (4,883 lb) [3]
Start of mission
Launch date28 October 2014, 22:22:38 UTC [4] [5]
Rocket Antares 130 [1]
Launch site Wallops Pad 0A
ContractorOrbital
End of mission
Disposal Flight termination
Destroyed28 October 2014, 22:23:01 UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference system Geocentric orbit (planned)
Regime Low Earth orbit
Inclination 51.66°
Orbital Sciences CRS Flight 3 Patch.png
NASA insignia  
←  Orbital-2
OA-4  →

Orbital-3, [6] [7] also known as Orb-3, was an attempted flight of Cygnus, an automated cargo spacecraft developed by United States-based company Orbital Sciences, on 28 October 2014. The mission was intended to launch at 22:22:38 UTC that evening. This flight, which would have been its fourth to the International Space Station and the fifth of an Antares launch vehicle, resulted in the Antares rocket exploding seconds after liftoff. [8]

Contents

Spacecraft

Cygnus Orb-3 spacecraft integrated with Antares rocket. Cygnus spacecraft loading for Orbital CRS-3.jpg
Cygnus Orb-3 spacecraft integrated with Antares rocket.

This would have been the third of eight flights by Orbital Sciences under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. This was the first attempted flight of the Antares 130, which uses a more powerful Castor 30XL second stage, and the last flight of the standard-sized Cygnus Pressurized Cargo Module.

In an Orbital Sciences tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft was named S.S. Deke Slayton after one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts and Director of Flight Operations, who died in 1993. [9] As the launch failed, the next spacecraft was also named after Deke Slayton.

Launch and early operations

The mission was scheduled to launch on 27 October 2014 at 22:45 UTC from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, with rendezvous and berthing with the ISS early in the morning on 2 November 2014. [5] This was the first night-time launch for both the Antares launcher and Cygnus spacecraft. [5] The launch was scrubbed due to safety concerns of a sailboat entering the exclusion zone less than ten minutes before launch. A 24-hour delay was put in place, with the next launch opportunity scheduled for 22:22:38 UTC on 28 October 2014.

Launch failure

Video of liftoff and explosion of rocket

The Antares rocket carrying the Orb-3 Cygnus launched as scheduled from Launch Pad 0A on 28 October 2014. Fifteen seconds after liftoff a failure of propulsion occurred in the first stage. The vehicle began falling back to the launch pad and the Range Safety Officer engaged its flight termination system just before impact. [10] [11]

The resulting explosion was felt in Pocomoke City, Maryland, 20 mi (32 km) away. [12] The fire at the site was quickly contained and allowed to burn itself out overnight. [8] [13] Initial review of telemetry data found no abnormalities in the pre-launch, the launch sequence, and the flight, until the time of the failure. [10]

In a press release, NASA stated that there were no known issues prior to launch and that no personnel were injured or missing but that the entire payload was lost and there was significant damage to the launch pad. [14] [15] On 29 October 2014, teams of investigators began examining debris at the crash site, [16] while a survey the same day found that there was no serious damage to the launch pad and site fuel tanks, although repairs would be required. [10] [17]

Subsequent investigation found that the LOX turbopump had exploded, which in turn, caused a shock wave that severed surrounding propellant lines and started a fire from leaking fuel. The fire damaged various components in the thrust section leading to the engines gradually being shut down, although a specific reason for the failure could not be determined. Possible causes were a defective pump bearing, ingestion of loose debris, or a manufacturing defect. [18]

Payload

Orb-3 carried a variety of NASA-manifested payloads, some determined fairly late in the days before the launch. The Cygnus cargo vehicle carried 2,215 kg (4,883 lb) of supplies and experiments meant for the International Space Station. [3] It included some CubeSats to be launched from the International Space Station.

Flock-1d

Planet Labs was launching Flock-1d, its next flock of 26 Earth observation nanosatellites. [19] After the accident they stated that this would not set them back due to their approach to space involving many satellites in various constellations. [20]

Arkyd-3

Arkyd-3 was a 3U CubeSat technology demonstrator from private company Planetary Resources (PRI). PRI had packaged a number of the non-optical satellite technologies of its larger Arkyd-100 telescope satellite — essentially the entire base of the Arkyd-100 satellite model revealed in January 2013, [21] but without the space telescope — into a "cost-effective box" of Arkyd 3, or A3, for early in-space flight testing as a subscale nanosatellite. The Arkyd-3 testbed satellite was packaged as a 3U CubeSat form-factor of 10×10×30 centimetres (3.9×3.9×11.8 in). [22] PRI contracted with NanoRacks to take the A3 to the ISS where it was planned to be released from the airlock in the Kibō module. [22] [23]

The subsystems to be tested included the avionics, attitude determination and control system (both sensors and actuators), and integrated propulsion system that will enable proximity operations for the Arkyd line of prospectors in the future. [24]

This near-term attempt to validate and mature the Planetary Resources satellite technology was planned to launch in October 2014, before launch and flight test of the Arkyd-100 in 2015. [25]

Other payloads

CRS Orb-3 was carrying eighteen student experiments designed to investigate crystal formation, seed germination, plant growth, and other processes in microgravity as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). [26] It also carried the first open source ArduLab-powered student experiments. [27]

Two amateur radio CubeSats, RACE and GOMX-2, were on board, among other satellites. On board GOMX-2 were two payloads. One payload was a pathfinder experiment for the Small Photon-Entangling Quantum System. [28] designed by the Centre for Quantum Technologies. [29] The other was a sail brake experiment to remove a CubeSat from orbit by increasing aerodynamic drag. [30]

Failure analysis and aftermath

With some preliminary investigation completed, Orbital cited the cause of the Orb-3 launch failure as likely being a turbopump failure in one of the Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-26 engines, a refurbished Russian NK-33 engine. [31] A NASA report from the failure investigation was released in October 2015. Although NASA and Orbital Sciences agree that the turbopump failed, they differ as to the root cause (machining or debris). [32] [33]

By January 2015, repairs to the Wallops Flight Facility began; they were completed in the fall of 2016. [34] To meet its Commercial Resupply Services obligations with NASA, Orbital Sciences launched two Enhanced Cygnus cargo spacecraft via Atlas V launch vehicle — CRS OA-4 (Deke Slayton II) in December 2015 and CRS OA-6 (Rick Husband) in March 2016 — while a new engine was selected and tested for the Antares launch vehicle. Orbital Sciences had been conducting an evaluation and review of an AJ-26 replacement engine prior to the incident, and in the year following the explosion they selected the NPO Energomash RD-181, the export version of the RD-191, to replace the AJ-26 on Antares. [35] The Russians selected this same engine (RD-193), to replace the NK-33 engine used on Soyuz-2. The redesigned Antares launch vehicle flew again in 2016. [36]

Manifest

Total cargo: 2,215 kg (4,883 lb) [37]

Total cargo with packing material: 2,294 kilograms (5,057 lb)

See also

Related Research Articles

Orbital Sciences Corporation was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class space and launch vehicle systems for commercial, military and other government customers. In 2014, Orbital merged with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc., which in turn was purchased by Northrop Grumman in 2018. The remnants of the former Orbital Sciences Corporation today are a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, known as Northrop Grumman Space Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport</span> Commercial space launch facility

The Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) is a commercial space launch facility located at the southern tip of NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and south of Chincoteague, Virginia, United States. It is owned and operated by the Virginia Spaceport Authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antares (rocket)</span> Medium-lift expendable rocket by Northrop Grumman

Antares, known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and the Pivdenne Design Bureau to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than 8,000 kg (18,000 lb) into low Earth orbit, Antares is currently the largest rocket operated by Northrop Grumman. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus (spacecraft)</span> Uncrewed cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences

Cygnus is an expendable American cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and now manufactured and launched by Northrop Grumman Space Systems as part of NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. It is usually launched by Northrop Grumman's Antares rocket, although three flights were on ULA's Atlas V and three are planned to launch on SpaceX' Falcon 9. It is designed to transport supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) following the retirement of the American Space Shuttle. Since August 2000, ISS resupply missions have been regularly flown by the Russian Progress spacecraft, as well as by the European Automated Transfer Vehicle, and the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle. With the Cygnus spacecraft and the SpaceX Dragon, NASA seeks to increase its partnerships with domestic commercial aviation and aeronautics industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial Resupply Services</span> Series of contracts awarded by NASA from 2008-present for delivery of cargo and supplies to the ISS

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) are a series of flights awarded by NASA for the delivery of cargo and supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) on commercially operated spacecraft. The first CRS contracts were signed in 2008 and awarded $1.6 billion to SpaceX for twelve cargo Dragon and $1.9 billion to Orbital Sciences for eight Cygnus flights, covering deliveries to 2016. The Falcon 9 and Antares rockets were also developed under the CRS program to deliver cargo spacecraft to the ISS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0</span> Rocket launch complex on Wallops Island, Virginia, U.S.

Launch Pad 0 (LP-0), also known as Launch Complex 0 (LC-0), or Launch Area 0 (LA-0), is a launch complex at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on Wallops Island, Virginia, in the United States. MARS is located adjacent to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility (WFF), which ran the launch complex until 2003. WFF continues to provide various support services to MARS launches under contract with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus Orb-1</span> 2014 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

Orbital-1, also known as Orb-1, was the second flight of the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo spacecraft, its second flight to the International Space Station (ISS) and the third launch of the company's Antares launch vehicle. The mission launched on 9 January 2014 at 18:07:05 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus Orb-2</span> 2014 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

Orbital-2, also known as Orb-2, was the third flight of the Orbital Sciences' uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus, its third flight to the International Space Station, and the fourth launch of the company's Antares launch vehicle. The mission launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) on 13 July 2014 at 16:52:14 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-4</span> 2015 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

OA-4, previously known as Orbital-4, was the fourth successful flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its third flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. With the Antares launch vehicle undergoing a redesign following its failure during the Orb-3 launch, OA-4 was launched by an Atlas V launch vehicle. Following three launch delays due to inclement weather beginning on 3 December 2015, OA-4 was launched at 21:44:57 UTC on 6 December 2015. With a liftoff weight of 7,492 kg (16,517 lb), OA-4 became the heaviest payload ever launched on an Atlas V. The spacecraft rendezvoused with and was berthed to the ISS on 9 December 2015. It was released on 19 February 2016 after 72 days at the International Space Station. Deorbit occurred on 20 February 2016 at approximately 16:00 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-5</span> 2016 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

OA-5, previously known as Orbital-5, was the seventh planned flight of the Orbital Sciences' uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its sixth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 October 2016 at 23:45:36 UTC. Orbital Sciences 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, Orbital 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-6</span> 2016 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

OA-6, previously known as Orbital-6, is the sixth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fifth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 23 March 2016 at 03:05:52 UTC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-7</span> 2017 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

OA-7, previously known as Orbital-7, is the eighth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its seventh flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. The mission launched on 18 April 2017 at 15:11:26 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 Services (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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-8E</span> 2017 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus OA-9E</span> 2018 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

OA-9E was the tenth flight of the Orbital ATK uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its ninth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services with NASA. The mission launched on 21 May 2018 at 08:44:06 UTC. Orbital ATK and NASA jointly developed a new space transportation system to provide commercial cargo resupply services to the International Space Station. Under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-10</span> 2018 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

NG-10, previously known as OA-10E, is the eleventh flight of the Northrop Grumman uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its tenth flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 November 2018, at 09:01:31 UTC. This particular mission is part of an extension of the initial CRS contract that enables NASA to cover the ISS resupply needs until the Commercial Resupply Services-2 (CRS-2) contract enters in effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-11</span> 2019 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

NG-11, previously known as OA-11, is the twelfth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its eleventh flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 17 April 2019 at 20:46:07 UTC. This is the last mission from the extended CRS-1 contract; follow-up missions are part of the CRS-2 contract. Cygnus NG-11 was also the first mission to load critical hardware onto Cygnus within the last 24 hours prior to launch, a new Antares feature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-13</span> 2020 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

NG-13, previously known as OA-13, was the fourteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its thirteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 15 February 2020 at 20:21:01 UTC after nearly a week of delays. This is the second launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-15</span> 2021 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

NG-15, previously known as OA-15, was the fifteenth launch of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fourteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract with NASA. The mission launched on 20 February 2021 at 17:36:50 UTC. This is the fourth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cygnus NG-16</span> 2021 American resupply spaceflight to the ISS

Cygnus NG-16, previously known as Cygnus OA-16, was the sixteenth flight of the Northrop Grumman robotic resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its fifteenth flight to the International Space Station (ISS) under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS-2) contract with NASA. The mission was launched on 10 August 2021 at 22:01:05 UTC, for a (planned) 90-day mission at the ISS. This was the fifth launch of Cygnus under the CRS-2 contract.

References

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  2. ↑ Todd, David (28 October 2014). "Antares 130 launch fails in explosion destroying Cygnus cargo craft and damaging launch pad (Updated)". Seradata.
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  21. ↑ Heater, Bryan (21 January 2013). "Planetary Resources shows off Arkyd-100 prototype, gives a tour of its workspace". Engadget. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
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  23. ↑ Romano, Benjamin (26 June 2013). "Planetary Resources Inks 3D Systems Deal, Plans Test Launch From ISS". Xconomy. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  24. ↑ Lewicki, Chris; Voorhees, Chris; Anunsen, Spencer (24 April 2013). "Planetary Resources One-year Update". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  25. ↑ Wilhelm, Steve (16 October 2014). "First step toward asteroid mining: Planetary Resources set to launch test satellite". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved 19 October 2014.
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  27. ↑ "NanoRacks-Duchesne-Algae Production in Microgravity with Variable Wavelengths of Light". NASA. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  28. ↑ Ling, Alexander "Alexander Ling's Team Webpage"
  29. ↑ "CQT | Centre for Quantum Technologies". www.quantumlah.org.
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