Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta the Cygnus spacecraft. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando entradas con la etiqueta the Cygnus spacecraft. Mostrar todas las entradas

domingo, 29 de septiembre de 2013

NASA : Statements on Berthing of Orbital Cygnus Spacecraft to the International Space Station




The following are statements from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John P. Holdren about the berthing of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sunday.
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden:
"Today, with the successful berthing of the Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo module to the ISS, we have expanded America's capability for reliably transporting cargo to low-Earth orbit. It is an historic milestone as this second commercial partner's demonstration mission reaches the ISS, and I congratulate Orbital Sciences and the NASA team that worked alongside them to make it happen.
"Orbital joins SpaceX in fulfilling the promise of American innovation to maintain America's leadership in space. As commercial partners demonstrate their new systems for reaching the Station, we at NASA continue to focus on the technologies to reach an asteroid and Mars.
"The international crews aboard the station are working hard on the science and technology demonstrations to help us reach new destinations, and the expanded cargo transportation capability Orbital has now demonstrated strengthens that work.
"Under President Obama’s leadership, the nation is embarking upon an ambitious exploration program that will take us farther into space than we have ever traveled before, while helping create good-paying jobs right here in the United States and inspiring the next generation.
"Congratulations again to the Orbital and NASA teams for achieving another important milestone on this exciting path. Godspeed, Cygnus, and here's to many more successful flights."
Assistant to the President for Science and Technology John P. Holdren:
"Space history was again made today with the berthing of Orbital Sciences' cargo-carrying Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station. Now two American companies have proven they are capable of delivering cargo to the space station.
"This mission is exactly what the President had in mind when he laid out a fresh course for NASA to take Americans deeper into our solar system while relying on private-sector competition to lower the cost of ferrying astronauts and cargo to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station. It’s essential we maintain competition and fully support this burgeoning and capable industry to get U.S. astronauts back on American launch vehicles as soon as possible.
"I am proud of the engineers and scientists -- both from NASA and Orbital Sciences -- who contributed to this success. Together, we're opening up the aperture of what we can accomplish in space through public-private partnerships and demonstrating that American innovation continues to lead the world."
For more information about the Orbital demonstration mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/orbital
ayabaca@yahoo.com
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NASA - Updated Cygnus Rendezvous Date, NASA TV Coverage for Orbital Sciences' Demonstration Mission to International Space Station

Canadarm2 Captures Cygnus

The Cygnus commercial resupply craft
The Cygnus commercial resupply craft is installed by the Canadarm2 to the Harmony node.
Image Credit: NASA TV
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The Cygnus spacecraft
The Cygnus cargo spacecraft is just a few feet away from the International Space Station's Canadarm2.
Image Credit: NASA
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Cygnus approaches the space station.
Cygnus approaches the International Space Station.
Image Credit: NASA
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A week after its original approach date, Orbital Sciences’ commercial cargo craft Cygnus has arrived at the International Space Station. The Expedition 37 crew captured Cygnus with the Canadarm2 at 7 a.m. EDT Sunday. Cygnus launched Sept. 18 aboard an Antares rocket from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
› Read more about Cygnus
Orbital Sciences uploaded a software fix for a navigation data mismatch that occurred during its approach Sept. 22. NASA managers opted to wait until after Wednesday’s Soyuz launch and docking to restart capture and berthing activities.
Cygnus was operating safely behind the space station by about 1,491 miles while mission managers and ground controllers tested the software patch and planned Sunday’s second approach attempt. Cygnus began a series of thruster burns towards the orbital laboratory Thursday night after station managers gave their final approval.
As Cygnus met its demonstration objectives and moved closer to the space station, Expedition 37 Flight Engineers Luca Parmitano and Karen Nyberg watched and worked in tandem with Mission Control. Parmitano was in the cupola at the Canadarm2 controls monitoring its approach. Nyberg was his back up at the secondary robotics workstation inside the Destiny laboratory.
› View Cygnus mission briefing graphics
› Read about Cygnus’ launch
When Cygnus met its final demonstration objective of pointing a tracking laser at a reflector on the Kibo laboratory it moved to its capture point about 10 meters from the station. Cygnus turned off its thrusters, operated in free drift, and Parmitano maneuvered the Canadarm2 to grapple and capture Cygnus.
Parmitano operated the Canadarm2 to move Cygnus and attached it to the Harmony node at 8:44 a.m. The hatches to Cygnus will be opened Monday afternoon after leak checks and power connections.
Orbital Sciences is the second company to send a commercial cargo craft to the space station. SpaceX was the first company to send its own cargo ship with two successful commercial resupply missions and two demonstration missions under its belt.
 
Updated Cygnus Rendezvous Date, NASA TV Coverage for Orbital Sciences' Demonstration Mission to International Space Station
 
NASA and its International Space Station partners have approved a Sunday, Sept. 29, target arrival of Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft on its demonstration cargo resupply mission to the space station.
NASA Television coverage of the rendezvous will begin at 4:30 a.m. EDT and will continue through the capture and installation of the Cygnus spacecraft. For the latest schedule for spacecraft capture and installation, as well as the post-berthing news conference, visit:
http://go.nasa.gov/19M65lk
Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., launched the Cygnus spacecraft on the company's Antares rocket Sept. 18 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
International Space Station Expedition 37 crew members Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency will capture the spacecraft using the space station's robotic arm. They then will install Cygnus on the bottom of the station's Harmony module.
Cygnus will deliver about 1,300 pounds (589 kilograms) of cargo, including student experiments, food and clothing, to the space station. Future Cygnus flights will ensure a robust national capability to deliver critical science research to orbit, significantly increasing NASA's ability to conduct new science investigations to the only laboratory in microgravity.
Cygnus had been scheduled for a rendezvous with the space station on Sept. 22. Due to a data format mismatch, the first rendezvous attempt was postponed. Orbital has since updated and tested a software patch. Cygnus' arrival also was postponed pending the Sept. 25 arrival of the Expedition 37 crew. Flight Engineer Michael Hopkins of NASA and Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Flight Engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) arrived at the space station aboard a Soyuz spacecraft at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday.
The updated Sunday rendezvous and approach will include originally planned tests to validate Cygnus' performance as it approaches the space station.
Orbital built, and is testing, Cygnus under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program. The successful completion of the COTS demonstration mission will pave the way for Orbital to conduct eight planned cargo resupply flights to the space station through NASA’s $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company.
For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv
For more information about the mission and the International Space Station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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