Development
The NASA COTS award was for and Orbital Sciences expected to invest an additional $150 million, split between $130 million for the booster and $20 million for the spacecraft.
A
Commercial Resupply Service
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 awarde ...
contract of $1.9 billion for eight flights was awarded in 2008. As of April 2012, development costs were estimated at $472 million.
In June 2008, it was announced that the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
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, Virgin ...
, formerly part of the
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and approximately north-northeast of Norfolk. The facility is operated by the Goddard ...
, in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, would be the primary launch site for the rocket.
Launch pad 0A (LP-0A), previously used for the failed
Conestoga rocket, would be modified to handle Antares.
Wallops allows launches which reach the International Space Station's orbit as effectively as those from
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
, Florida, while being less crowded.
The first Antares flight launched a Cygnus mass simulator.
On December 10, 2009,
Alliant Techsystems Inc.
Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...
(ATK) test-fired their Castor 30 motor for use on the second stage of the Antares rocket.
In March 2010, Orbital Sciences and
Aerojet
Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. ...
completed test firings of the
AJ-26
The NK-33 and NK-43 are rocket engines designed and built in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. The NK designation is derived from the initials of chief designer Nikolai Dmitriyevich Kuznetsov, Nikolay Kuznetsov. The N ...
engines.
On February 22, 2013, a hot fire test was successfully performed, the entire first stage being erected on the pad and held down while the engines fired for 29 seconds.
Design
First stage
The
first stage of Antares burns
RP-1
RP-1 (alternatively, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel. RP-1 provides a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (LH2), but is cheaper, is st ...
(kerosene) and
liquid oxygen
Liquid oxygen—abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries—is the liquid form of molecular oxygen. It was used as the oxidizer in the first liquid-fueled rocket invented in 1926 by Robert H. Goddard, an applica ...
(LOX). As Orbital had little experience with large liquid stages and LOX propellant, the first stage core was designed and is manufactured in
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
by
Yuzhnoye SDO and
Yuzhmash
The State Factory «Production Union Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant named after O.M. Makarov», PA Pivdenmash or formerly, PA Yuzhmash (Ukrainian: Державне підприємство «Виробниче об'єднання Півде ...
and includes propellant tanks, pressurization tanks, valves, sensors, feed lines, tubing, wiring and other associated hardware.
Like the
Zenit
Zenit, meaning "zenith", may refer to:
Spaceflight and rocketry
* Zenit (rocket family), a Soviet family of space launch vehicles
* Zenit (satellite), a type of Soviet spy satellite
* Zenit sounding rocket, a Swiss rocket
Sports
* Zenit (sports ...
—also manufactured by Yuzhmash—the Antares vehicle has a diameter of with a matching 3.9 m
payload fairing
A payload fairing is a nose cone used to protect a spacecraft payload against the impact of dynamic pressure and aerodynamic heating during launch through an atmosphere. An additional function on some flights is to maintain the cleanroom environm ...
.
Antares 100 series
The Antares 100-series first stage was powered by two
Aerojet
Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. ...
AJ26 engines. These began as
Kuznetsov Kuznetsov, Kuznyetsov, Kuznetsoff, or Kouznetsov (masculine, russian: Кузнецов) or Kuznetsova (feminine, russian: Кузнецова) is the third most common Russian surname, an equivalent of the English "Smith" (derived from a Russian word ...
NK-33
The NK-33 and NK-43 are rocket engines designed and built in the late 1960s and early 1970s by the Kuznetsov Design Bureau. The NK designation is derived from the initials of chief designer Nikolay Kuznetsov. The NK-33 was among the most powerfu ...
engines built in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in the late 1960s and early 1970s, 43 of which were purchased by Aerojet in the 1990s. Twenty of these were refurbished into AJ26 engines for Antares. Modifications included equipping the engines for
gimballing, adding US electronics, and qualifying the engines to fire for twice as long as designed and to operate at 108% of their original thrust.
Together they produced of thrust at sea level and in vacuum.
Following the catastrophic failure of an AJ26 during testing at
Stennis Space Center
The John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) is a NASA rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on the banks of the Pearl River at the Mississippi–Louisiana border. , it is NASA's largest rocket engine test facility. T ...
in May 2014 and the
Orb-3 launch failure in October 2014, likely caused by an engine turbopump, the Antares 100-series was retired.
Antares 200 series
Because of concerns over corrosion, aging, and the limited supply of AJ26 engines, Orbital had selected new first stage engines
[ to bid on a second major long-term contract for cargo resupply of the ]ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
. After the loss of the Antares rocket in October 2014, Orbital Sciences announced that the Russian RD-181—a modified version of the RD-191—would replace the AJ-26 on the Antares 200-series.[ The first flight of the Antares 230 configuration using the RD-181 happened on October 17, 2016, carrying the ]Cygnus OA-5
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 ...
cargo to the ISS
The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA (J ...
.
The Antares 200 and 200+ first stages are powered by two RD-181 engines, which provide more thrust than the dual AJ26 engines used on the Antares 100. Orbital adapted the existing core stage to accommodate the increased performance in the 200 Series, allowing Antares to deliver up to to low Earth orbit. The surplus performance of the Antares 200-series will allow Orbital to fulfill its ISS resupply contract in only four additional flights, rather than the five that would have been required with the Antares 100-series.[
While the 200 series adapted the originally ordered 100 Series stages ( Yuzhnoye SDO / ]Yuzhmash
The State Factory «Production Union Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant named after O.M. Makarov», PA Pivdenmash or formerly, PA Yuzhmash (Ukrainian: Державне підприємство «Виробниче об'єднання Півде ...
, Zenit derived), it requires under-throttling the RD-181 engines, which reduces performance.[
The Antares was upgraded to the Antares 230+ for the NASA Commercial Resupply Services 2 contract. NG-12, launched November 2, 2019, was the first NASA CRS-2 mission to ISS using the 230+ upgrades. The most significant upgrades were structural changes to the intertank bay (between the and RP-1 tanks) and the forward bay (forward of the ). Additionally, the company is working on trajectory improvements via a "load-release autopilot" that will provide greater mass to orbit capability.]
Antares 300 series
In August 2022, Northrop Grumman announced that it had contracted Firefly Aerospace
Firefly Aerospace is an American private aerospace firm based in Austin, Texas, that develops launch vehicles for commercial launches to orbit. The company completed its $75 million Series A investment round in May 2021, which was led by DADA ...
to build the 300-series first stage, which is similar to Firefly's in-development Beta launch vehicle, and features the same composite structures as well as seven Miranda engines producing of thrust — substantially greater than the previous 200-series first stage. Northrop Grumman states that the new first stage substantially increases the mass capability of Antares.
The announcement occurred as a result of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...
, which has jeopardized supply chains for the previous first stages, which are manufactured in Ukraine and use RD-181 engines from Russia.
Second stage
The second stage is an Orbital ATK Castor 30
The Castor family of solid-fuel rocket stages and boosters built by Thiokol (now Northrop Grumman) and used on a variety of launch vehicles. They were initially developed as the second-stage motor of the Scout rocket. The design was based on the ...
-series solid-fuel rocket
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants ( fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; they were used in warfare by the Arabs, Chinese, Persian ...
, developed as a derivative of the Castor 120 solid motor used as Minotaur-C
Minotaur-C (''Minotaur Commercial''), formerly known as Taurus or Taurus XL, is a four stage solid fueled launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) and launched from SLC-576E at California's Vandenber ...
's first stage. The first two flights of Antares used a Castor 30A, which was replaced by the enhanced Castor 30B for subsequent flights. The Castor 30B produces average and maximum thrust, and uses electromechanical
In engineering, electromechanics combines processes and procedures drawn from electrical engineering and mechanical engineering. Electromechanics focuses on the interaction of electrical and mechanical systems as a whole and how the two systems ...
thrust vector control. For increased performance, the larger Castor 30XL is available and will be used on ISS resupply flights to allow Antares to carry the Enhanced Cygnus.
The Castor 30XL upper stage for Antares 230+ is being optimized for the CRS-2 contract. The initial design of the Castor 30XL was conservatively built, and after gaining flight experience it was determined that the structural component of the motor case could be lightened.
Third stage
Antares offers three optional third stages: the Bi-Propellant Third Stage (BTS), a Star 48
The Star 48 is the largest of a family of solid rocket motors used by many space propulsion and launch vehicle stages. It is used almost exclusively as an upper stage. It was developed primarily by Thiokol Propulsion and is now, after several me ...
-based third stage and an Orion 38
Orion is a series of American solid-fuel rocket stages, developed and manufactured by a joint venture between Hercules Aerospace and Alliant Techsystems (now Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems). They were originally developed for use as all thre ...
motor. BTS is derived from Orbital Sciences' GEOStar spacecraft bus
A satellite bus (or spacecraft bus) is the main body and structural component of a satellite or spacecraft, in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held.
Bus-derived satellites are opposed to specially produced satellites. Bus-d ...
and uses nitrogen tetroxide
Dinitrogen tetroxide, commonly referred to as nitrogen tetroxide (NTO), and occasionally (usually among ex-USSR/Russia rocket engineers) as amyl, is the chemical compound N2O4. It is a useful reagent in chemical synthesis. It forms an equilibrium ...
and hydrazine
Hydrazine is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a simple pnictogen hydride, and is a colourless flammable liquid with an ammonia-like odour. Hydrazine is highly toxic unless handled in solution as, for example, hydrazine ...
for propellant; it is intended to precisely place payloads into their final orbits. The Star 48-based stage uses a Star 48BV solid rocket motor and would be used for higher energy orbits. The Orion 38 is used on the Minotaur and Pegasus rockets as an upper stage.
Fairing
The diameter, high fairing is manufactured by Northrop Grumman of Iuka, Mississippi
Iuka is a city in and the county seat of Tishomingo County, Mississippi, United States. Its population was 3,028 at the 2010 census. Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi, is located just south of Iuka.
History
Iuka is built on t ...
, which also builds other composite structures for the vehicle, including the combined fairing adapter, dodecagon, motor cone, and interstage.
NASA Commercial Resupply Services-2 : Enhancements
On January 14, 2016, NASA awarded three cargo contracts via CRS-2. Orbital ATK's Cygnus was one of these contracts.
According to Mark Pieczynski, Orbital ATK Vice President, Flight Systems Group, "A further improved version f Antares for CRS-2 contract
F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''.
Hist ...
is in development which will include: Stage 1 core updates including structural reinforcements and optimization to accommodate increased loads. (Also) certain refinements to the RD-181 engines and CASTOR 30XL motor; and Payload accommodations improvements including a 'pop-top' feature incorporated in the fairing to allow late Cygnus cargo load and optimized fairing adapter structure".
Previously, it was understood that these planned upgrades from the Antares 230 series would create a vehicle known as the Antares 300 series. However, when asked specifically about Antares 300 series development, Mr. Pieczynski stated that Orbital ATK has "not determined to call the upgrades, we are working on, a 300 series. This is still TBD".
In May 2018, the Antares program manager Kurt Eberly indicated that the upgrades will be referred to as Antares 230+.
Configurations and numbering
The first two test flights used a Castor 30A second stage. All subsequent flights will use either a Castor 30B or Castor 30XL. The rocket's configuration is indicated by a three-digit number and a possible "+" suffix, the first number representing the first stage, the second the type of second stage, and the third the type of third stage. A + sign added as suffix (fourth position) signifies performance upgrades to the Antares 230 variant.
Notable missions and anomalies
Antares A-ONE
Originally scheduled for 2012, the first Antares launch, designated ''A-ONE'' was conducted on April 21, 2013, carrying the Cygnus Mass Simulator
Antares A-ONE mission was the maiden flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation' Antares launch vehicle including the ascent to space and accurate delivery of a simulated payload, the Cygnus Mass Simulator (CMS), which was launched 21 April 2013. I ...
(a boilerplate Cygnus spacecraft
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 launched by North ...
) and four CubeSat
A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...
s contracted by Spaceflight Incorporated: Dove 1
Planet Labs PBC (formerly Planet Labs, Inc. and Cosmogia, Inc.) is an American public Earth imaging company based in San Francisco, California. Their goal is to image the entirety of the Earth daily to monitor changes and pinpoint trends.
The co ...
for Cosmogia Incorporated (now Planet Labs) and three PhoneSat
PhoneSat is an ongoing NASA project of building nanosatellites using unmodified consumer-grade off-the-shelf smartphones and Arduino platform and launching them into Low Earth Orbit. This project is part of NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Prog ...
satellites – Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
, Graham
Graham and Graeme may refer to:
People
* Graham (given name), an English-language given name
* Graham (surname), an English-language surname
* Graeme (surname), an English-language surname
* Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer
* Clan ...
and Bell
A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inter ...
for NASA.
Prior to the launch, a 27-second test firing of the rocket's AJ26 engines was conducted successfully on February 22, 2013, following an attempt on February 13 which was abandoned before ignition.
''A-ONE'' used the Antares 110 configuration, with a Castor 30A second stage and no third stage. The launch took place from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
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, Virgin ...
on Wallops Island
Wallops Island is a island in Accomack County, Virginia, part of the Virginia Barrier Islands that stretch along the eastern seaboard of the United States of America. It is just south of Chincoteague Island, a popular tourist destination.
W ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. LP-0A was a former Conestoga launch complex which had only been used once before, in 1995, for the Conestoga's only orbital launch attempt. Antares became the largest — and first — liquid-fuelled rocket to fly from Wallops Island, as well as the largest rocket launched by Orbital Sciences.
The first attempt to launch the rocket, on April 17, 2013, was scrubbed after an umbilical detached from the rocket's second stage, and a second attempt on April 20 was scrubbed due to high altitude winds. At the third attempt on April 21, the rocket lifted off at the beginning of its launch window. The launch window for all three attempts was three hours beginning at 21:00 UTC (17:00 EDT), shortening to two hours at the start of the terminal count, and ten minutes later in the count.
Cygnus CRS Orb-3
On October 28, 2014, the attempted launch of an Antares carrying a Cygnus cargo spacecraft on the Orb-3 resupply mission failed catastrophically six seconds after liftoff from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport
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, Virgin ...
at Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) is a rocket launch site on Wallops Island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, United States, just east of the Delmarva Peninsula and approximately north-northeast of Norfolk. The facility is operated by the Goddard ...
, Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. An explosion occurred in the thrust section just as the vehicle cleared the tower, and it fell back down onto the launch pad. The range safety officer sent the destruct command just before impact. There were no injuries.[ Orbital Sciences reported that Launch Pad 0A "escaped significant damage",][ though initial estimates for repairs were in the $20 million range. Orbital Sciences formed an anomaly investigation board to investigate the cause of the incident. They traced it to a failure of the first stage LOX turbopump, but could not find a specific cause. However, the refurbished NK-33 engines, originally manufactured over 40 years earlier and stored for decades, were suspected as having leaks, corrosion, or manufacturing defects that had not been detected. The NASA Accident Investigation Report was more direct in its failure assessment.] On October 6, 2015, almost one year after the accident, Pad 0A was restored to use. Total repair costs were about $15 million.
Following the failure, Orbital sought to purchase launch services for its Cygnus spacecraft in order to satisfy its cargo contract with NASA,[ and on December 9, 2014, Orbital announced that at least one, and possibly two, Cygnus flights would be launched on ]Atlas V
Atlas V is an expendable launch system and the fifth major version in the Atlas (rocket family), Atlas launch vehicle family. It was originally designed by Lockheed Martin, now being operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture be ...
rockets from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) is an installation of the United States Space Force's Space Launch Delta 45, located on Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida.
Headquartered at the nearby Patrick Space Force Base, the statio ...
. As it happened, Cygnus OA-4
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 ...
and Cygnus OA-6
OA-6, previously known as Orbital-6, is the sixth flight of the Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, Orbital ATK Cargo spacecraft, uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus (spacecraft), Cygnus and its fifth flight to the International Space Station ...
were launched with an Atlas V and the Antares 230 performed its maiden flight with Cygnus OA-5
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 ...
in October 2016. One further mission was launched aboard an Atlas in April 2017 (Cygnus OA-7
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 mi ...
), fulfilling Orbital's contractual obligations towards NASA. It was followed by the Antares 230 in regular service with Cygnus OA-8E
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 Nove ...
in November 2017, with three further missions scheduled on their extended contract.
Launch statistics
Launch history
Future launches
Launch sequence
The following table shows a typical launch sequence of Antares-100 series rockets, such as for launching a Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station.[
]
See also
* Comparison of orbital launchers families
This article compares different orbital launcher families (although many launchers that are significantly different from other members of the same 'family' have their own separate entries). The article is organized into two tables: the first tabl ...
* Minotaur-C
Minotaur-C (''Minotaur Commercial''), formerly known as Taurus or Taurus XL, is a four stage solid fueled launch vehicle built in the United States by Orbital Sciences (now Northrop Grumman) and launched from SLC-576E at California's Vandenber ...
* Falcon 9
Falcon 9 is a partially reusable medium lift launch vehicle that can carry cargo and crew into Earth orbit, produced by American aerospace company SpaceX.
The rocket has two stages. The first (booster) stage carries the second stage and payl ...
References
External links
*
{{Use American English, date=January 2014
Rocket families
Orbital Sciences Corporation space launch vehicles
Northrop Grumman space launch vehicles
Expendable space launch systems
Articles containing video clips
Vehicles introduced in 2013