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41-616: Orbital-D1 , also known as Orb-D1 , and Cygnus 1 , was the first flight of the Cygnus cargo spacecraft developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation . It was named after the late NASA astronaut and Orbital Sciences executive G. David Low . The flight was carried out by Orbital Sciences under contract to NASA as Cygnus' demonstration mission in the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. The mission launched on 18 September 2013 at 14:58:02 UTC . Cygnus

82-534: A further enlarged "Mission B" Cygnus will be introduced with a length of 7.89 meters (25.9 ft), a payload capacity of 5,000 kilograms (11,000 lb), an increase of 19.5%, and a pressurized cargo volume of 36 cubic metres (1,300 cu ft), an increase of 15.5%. During a typical CRS missions, Cygnus maneuvers close to the International Space Station, where the Canadarm2 robotic arm grapples

123-610: 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. The Russians selected this same engine ( RD-193 ), to replace

164-455: A second competition. Orbital Sciences Corporation participated in this second round, proposing a largely "off-the-shelf" design. The spacecraft, named Cygnus, would be built around a service module based on Orbital's Star Bus , a satellite bus in use since 1997, which would be attached to a pressurized cargo module built by Thales Alenia Space , which had also built the MPLM cargo module used by

205-456: 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. Orb-3 carried a variety of NASA-manifested payloads, some determined fairly late in

246-627: 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). 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 . 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

287-453: Is capable of producing up to 4 kW of electrical power via two solar arrays. The PCM is manufactured by Thales Alenia Space in Turin , Italy. The first "Standard" PCMs had a length of 5.14 meters (16.9 ft), a payload capacity of 2,000 kilograms (4,400 lb), and a pressurized cargo volume of 18.9 cubic metres (670 cu ft). The fourth and all subsequent Cygnus spacecraft are

328-659: The G. David Low after the former NASA astronaut and Orbital employee who died of cancer on 15 March 2008. During a media briefing for the Cygnus Orb-1 mission, Orbital Sciences executive vice president Frank Culbertson stated, "We were very proud to name that [Cygnus] the G. David Low". Cygnus Orb-D1 was launched by an Antares 110 launch vehicle flying from Pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS). The launch took place at 14:58:02   UTC on 18 September 2013, and successfully inserted

369-593: The Antares 100 series , Atlas V , Antares 200 series and Falcon 9 Block 5 . Each mission is named for a notable member of the Human spaceflight community. Cygnus Orb-3 Orbital-3 , 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

410-602: The Canadarm2 was used to unberth the Cygnus spacecraft from the nadir port of the Harmony module at 10:04   UTC. The spacecraft was then maneuvered to a release position below the station, where it was released from the RMS at 11:31   UTC. It then performed a series of separation maneuvers away from the station. The spacecraft fired its main engine to de-orbit itself on 23 October 2013 at 17:41   UTC, with reentry and burning up in

451-535: The Canadarm2 Mobile Servicing System (MSS) as the two spacecraft sailed high above the Indian Ocean . Cygnus was berthed to the nadir port of the station's Harmony node. Cygnus Orb-D1 carried 700 kg (1,500 lb) of cargo to the ISS, including food and spare parts. After unloading, the spacecraft was loaded with 1,290 kg (2,840 lb) of cargo for disposal. On 22 October 2013,

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492-781: The Falcon 9 rocket in 2024 with one more scheduled to launch in 2025, operated by CRS competitor SpaceX . In addition to Cygnus, ISS resupply missions have been flown by the Russian Progress spacecraft , the European Automated Transfer Vehicle , the Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle and the American SpaceX Dragon . Cygnus is the Greek word for swan and the name of a constellation . After

533-541: The International Space Station and the fifth of an Antares launch vehicle, resulted in the Antares rocket exploding seconds after liftoff. 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

574-541: 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. This was the first night-time launch for both the Antares launcher and Cygnus spacecraft. 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

615-616: The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP). It also carried the first open source ArduLab-powered student experiments. 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. designed by the Centre for Quantum Technologies . The other

656-401: The "Enhanced" variant. These have a stretched PCM with a length of 6.39 meters (21.0 ft), a payload capacity of 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb), an increase of 32%, and a pressurized cargo volume of 27 cubic metres (950 cu ft), an increase of 19.5%. To launch the added weight, Orbital used the more powerful Castor 30XL solid-fuel rocket as a second-stage. Starting in mid-2025,

697-635: The Arkyd line of prospectors in the future. 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. 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

738-465: The Cygnus into low Earth orbit . The launch marked the second flight of the Antares launch vehicle and the final flight of the interim Antares 110 configuration. Rendezvous with the ISS was originally scheduled for the fourth day of the mission. However, the rendezvous was postponed due to a computer data link problem. The exact error related to small discrepancies between the way the ISS and Cygnus each use GPS for timekeeping purposes. A further delay

779-630: The ISS through 2016 in eight Cygnus spacecraft flights. To propel Cygnus into space, Orbital developed the Antares rocket , which also leveraged lower-cost, off-the-shelf parts and designs. Construction and design of the first stage was subcontracted to Ukrainian companies and used refurbished NK-33 engines, remnants of the Soviet N1 moon rocket. The second stage was the Castor 30 , which Orbital had previously used on another rocket project (the Minotaur-C ) and

820-566: The PCM with the Return Cargo Module (RCM), which would have allowed Cygnus to return cargo to Earth. In August 2023, Northrop Grumman announced a further enlarged Mission B version of Cygnus, with a 1.5 m (4.9 ft) stretch to the payload module and payload mass increased to 5,000 kg (11,000 lb). This version is expected to enter service with the NG-23 mission in 2025 (the first to use

861-673: The Space Shuttle, the cargo module for the European ATV spacecraft and several permanent modules on the ISS. Cygnus was awarded a COTS contract worth $ 170 million in February 2008, which was later increased to $ 288 million. On 23 December 2008, NASA awarded Orbital Sciences a $ 1.9 billion contract under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) program. Under this contract, Orbital Sciences agreed to deliver up to 20 tons of cargo to

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902-614: The atmosphere over the southern Pacific Ocean occurring at 18:16   UTC. Cygnus (spacecraft) Cygnus is typically launched using its parent company's Antares rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virgina, however it is able to fly on other launch vehicles. After the failure of an Antares rocket destroyed Cygnus CRS Flight 3 and damaged the Wallops facility, two Cygnus missions were launched with Atlas V rockets in 2015 and 2016. Additionally, two Cygnus missions have launched on

943-506: 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. It included some CubeSats to be launched from the International Space Station. Planet Labs was launching Flock-1d , its next flock of 26 Earth observation nanosatellites . After the accident they stated that this would not set them back due to their approach to space involving many satellites in various constellations. Arkyd-3

984-449: The entire payload was lost and there was significant damage to the launch pad. On 29 October 2014, teams of investigators began examining debris at the crash site, 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. Subsequent investigation found that the LOX turbopump had exploded, which in turn, caused

1025-558: The fabrication of the HALO, and for integration with the Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), being built by Maxar . The following list includes only missions that have flown and six planned missions. As of August 2024 one more mission is planned to be launched on the Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 40 , and three from Wallops on an Antares 330 . Cygnus is the only cargo freighter to launch on four different launch vehicles:

1066-472: The first scheduled Cygnus resupply mission arrived at the space station; the capsule carried Christmas presents and fresh fruit for the astronauts. Its arrival was delayed, first by the need to repair the station, and then by frigid weather at the launch site and solar flares that forced postponements. With the December 2015 launch of Orb CRS-4 on Atlas V, the enhanced version of Cygnus made its debut. While it

1107-432: 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. As the launch failed, the next spacecraft was also named after Deke Slayton. The mission was scheduled to launch on 27 October 2014 at 22:45   UTC from

1148-724: The new Antares 330 launch vehicle). In August 2019, NASA decided to sole source its design for the Minimal Habitation Module (Habitation and Logistics Outpost, or HALO) of the Lunar Gateway to Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, which offered a minimalist 6.1 m (20 ft) by 3 m (9.8 ft) design based directly on the Enhanced Cygnus, as well as a larger 7 m (23 ft) by 4.4 m (14 ft) design having radial docking ports, body-mounted radiators (BMRs), batteries and communications antennas added on

1189-406: The outside. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems opted to build the minimalist design, which offered the advantage of component compatibility and expedited testing of life support systems on existing Cygnus spacecraft. On 5 June 2020, NASA awarded Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems a $ 187 million contract to complete the preliminary design of HALO. NASA will sign a separate contract with Northrop for

1230-606: The retirement of the Space Shuttle was announced, NASA began to look for commercial space launch companies who could fly cargo to the ISS. In early 2006, the agency started its Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, where it would help fund the development of cargo spacecraft after a competitive process. SpaceX and Rocketplane Kistler won contracts in the COTS program, however Rocketplane Kistler failed to meet several financial milestones and on 18 October 2007, NASA announced it would terminate its contract and re-award it after

1271-708: The spacecraft and berths it to a Common Berthing Mechanism , typically the nadir port of the Unity module . Cygnus does not provide cargo return capability. However, it can be loaded with obsolete equipment and trash which will burn up as the Cygnus makes a destructive reentry . An earlier proposed version of Cygnus would have replaced the PCM with the Unpressurized Cargo Module (UCM), based on NASA's ExPRESS Logistics Carrier , and would have been used to transport unpressurized cargo, such as ISS Orbital Replacement Units . Another proposed variant would have replaced

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1312-496: The turbopump failed, they differ as to the root cause (machining or debris). By January 2015, repairs to the Wallops Flight Facility began; they were completed in the fall of 2016. 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

1353-470: 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, but without the space telescope—into a "cost-effective box" of Arkyd 3 , or A3 , for early in-space flight testing as

1394-558: Was a sail brake experiment to remove a CubeSat from orbit by increasing aerodynamic drag. 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. A NASA report from the failure investigation was released in October 2015. Although NASA and Orbital Sciences agree that

1435-421: Was based on a Peacekeeper ICBM first stage. The first Cygnus flight was originally planned to occur in December 2010, but was repeatedly delayed. The Antares made its maiden flight lifting a payload mass simulator to low Earth orbit on April 21, 2013. On September 18, 2013, Antares successfully launched a Cygnus spacecraft on a flight test to rendezvous with the International Space Station. On 12 January 2014,

1476-494: Was based on prior products developed by Orbital including the GEOStar and LEOStar (collectively known as Star Bus ) satellite buses and the Dawn spacecraft . It has a gross mass of 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), 32 thrusters for attitude control and one BT-4 main engine fuelled with 800 kg (1,800 lb) of hypergolic propellants, hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide . The SM

1517-494: Was felt in Pocomoke City, Maryland , 20 mi (32 km) away. The fire at the site was quickly contained and allowed to burn itself out overnight. Initial review of telemetry data found no abnormalities in the pre-launch, the launch sequence, and the flight, until the time of the failure. 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

1558-472: Was necessary to allow for the arrival of Soyuz TMA-10M with three new ISS crew members. A week late, the spacecraft conducted a series of navigation, control and safety tests as it approached the station. Following the successful completion of ten test objectives, the spacecraft was cleared to make its final approach, holding 12 m (39 ft) below the ISS. Then, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano grappled it at 11:00   UTC, on 29 September 2013, using

1599-626: Was planned from the beginning to fly on the fifth mission, the Orb CRS-3 failure and subsequent move to Atlas V meant a delay. However, lessons learned on packing and the extra capabilities of the Atlas allowed payload to be increased to 3,500 kg (7,700 lb). The Cygnus spacecraft consists of two basic components: the Service Module (SM) and the Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM). The SM

1640-582: Was put in place, with the next launch opportunity scheduled for 22:22:38   UTC on 28 October 2014. 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. The resulting explosion

1681-473: Was the seventh type of spacecraft to visit the International Space Station (ISS), after the crewed Soyuz and Space Shuttle , and uncrewed Progress , ATV , HTV and Dragon 1 . The Cygnus Orb-D1 mission was the first flight of the Cygnus spacecraft and used the standard configuration with a Pressurized Cargo Module (PCM), built by Thales Alenia Space , in Italy . Orbital named this mission's Cygnus spacecraft

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