S.S. John Glenn Spacecraft Delivers Approximately 7,600 Pounds of
Cargo Including Supplies and Scientific Experiments
Cygnus Begins Three-Month Stay at the Orbiting Laboratory
Company Website:
http://www.orbitalatk.com
DULLES, Va. -- (Business Wire)
Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense
technologies, today announced that its CygnusTM spacecraft
successfully completed rendezvous and berthing with the International
Space Station earlier today. Known as OA-7, the mission marks the
company’s seventh cargo delivery mission under NASA’s Commercial
Resupply Services (CRS-1) contract. The OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft is named
the “S.S. John Glenn” in keeping with Orbital ATK’s tradition to name
its Cygnus spacecraft in honor of those who made significant
contributions to America’s human spaceflight programs.
Cygnus launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station on April 18. The spacecraft executed a
series of thruster burns to raise its orbit and reach the space station.
Once Cygnus was in close range, crew members grappled the spacecraft
with the station’s robotic arm at 6:05 a.m. EDT. It was then guided to
the Nadir berthing port on the station’s Unity module. The installation
concluded at 8:39 a.m. EDT.
“This is our fourth successful trip to the space station in little over
a year and the third time we will use Cygnus as a platform for
conducting scientific experiments,” said Frank Culbertson, Orbital ATK
Space Systems Group President. “Once again, we are demonstrating to NASA
the proven flexibility and reliability of the Cygnus spacecraft and the
entire Orbital ATK team. It is truly fitting that a mission designed to
provide needed supplies to astronauts while also promoting space
exploration and scientific research be dedicated in honor of John Glenn,
a pioneer of human spaceflight.”
Cygnus arrived at the station with approximately 7,600 (3,450 kilograms)
of cargo, including a NanoRacks cubesat deployer, food, clothing, crew
supplies, spare parts, packaging materials, and laboratory equipment.
The cargo delivery also included four powered, mid-deck lockers.
Resembling freezers, these lockers received power after they were loaded
onto the cargo module. Each locker carries critical science samples and
experiments for the crew.
The crew is now scheduled to open Cygnus’ hatch and make initial ingress
into the cargo module to begin unloading the pressurized cargo. The S.S.
John Glenn will remain berthed with the orbiting laboratory for three
months before departing with close to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms) of
disposable cargo.
After Cygnus departs the space station, the spacecraft will again be
used as a scientific platform, executing a series of secondary payload
missions. Cygnus will carry the Saffire-III payload experiment to study
the behavior of a large scale fire in microgravity. In addition, a
NanoRacks deployer will release four cubesats used for weather
monitoring and global ship tracking. For the final experiment, Cygnus
will use three Reentry Data Collection Flight Recorders to provide
crucial data about the extreme conditions a spacecraft encounters when
reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. This specific experiment will also
test the performance of different heat shield materials that may be used
on future U.S. space missions. Once these secondary payload missions are
complete, Cygnus will conduct a safe, destructive reentry into Earth’s
atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
Pending NASA’s specific cargo needs, Orbital ATK is prepared to launch
two additional CRS missions scheduled this year that will launch aboard
the company’s Antares rockets from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in
Virginia.
B-roll and animation footage for the OA-7 mission can be found here: http://www.orbitalatk.com/news-room/bmc/#.
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About Orbital ATK
Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies.
The company designs, builds and delivers space, defense and aviation
systems for customers around the world, both as a prime contractor and
merchant supplier. Its main products include launch vehicles and related
propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense
electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition;
satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced
aerospace structures. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, Orbital ATK
employs approximately 12,500 people in 18 states across the U.S. and in
several international locations. For more information, visit www.orbitalatk.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170422005022/en/
Contacts:
Media Contact:
Orbital ATK
Vicki Cox, 410-409-8723
Space
Systems Group Public Relations
vicki.cox@orbitalatk.com
or
Investor
Contact:
Orbital ATK
Barron Beneski, 703-406-5528
Public
and Investor Relations
barron.beneski@orbitalatk.com
Source: Orbital ATK
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