Orbital Sciences Corporation (commonly referred to as Orbital) was an American company specializing in the design, manufacture, and launch of small- and medium- class

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually consider ...

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 Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

in 2018. The remnants of the former Orbital Sciences Corporation today are a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, known as

Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems (NGIS) was a sector (business segment) of Northrop Grumman from 2018 through 2019. It was formed from Orbital ATK Inc. a company which resulted from the merger of Orbital Sciences Corporation and parts of Alli ...

. Orbital was headquartered in

Dulles, Virginia Dulles () is an unincorporated area in Loudoun County, Virginia, United States, and is part of the Washington metropolitan area. The headquarters of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems and ODIN Technologies, as well as the former headquarters of ...

and publicly traded on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed c ...

with the ticker symbol ORB. Orbital's primary products were satellites and

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload (spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, launch pads, supported by a missile launch contro ...

s, including

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

(LEO), geosynchronous Earth orbit and planetary spacecraft for

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

remote sensing Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon without making physical contact with the object, in contrast to in situ or on-site observation. The term is applied especially to acquiring information about Earth ...

, scientific and defense missions; ground- and air-launched launch vehicles that delivered satellites into orbit; missile defense systems that were used as interceptor and target vehicles; and

human-rated Human-rating certification, also known as man-rating or crew-rating, is the certification of a spacecraft or launch vehicle as capable of safely transporting humans. There is no one particular standard for human-rating a spacecraft or launch veh ...

space systems for Earth orbit, lunar and other missions. Orbital also provided satellite subsystems and space-related technical services to government agencies and laboratories. On 29 April 2014, Orbital Sciences announced that it would

merge Merge, merging, or merger may refer to: Concepts * Merge (traffic), the reduction of the number of lanes on a road * Merge (linguistics), a basic syntactic operation in generative syntax in the Minimalist Program * Merger (politics), the comb ...

with Alliant Techsystems to create a new company called Orbital ATK, Inc. The merger was completed on 9 February 2015 and Orbital Sciences ceased to exist as an independent entity. On 18 September 2017, Northrop Grumman announced plans to purchase Orbital ATK for US$7.8 billion in cash plus assumption of US$1.4 billion in debt, and on 6 June 2018, the acquisition was completed, and Orbital ATK became

. As of 1 January 2020, the name was changed to Space Systems under a large restructuring and rebranding initiative.

History

Orbital was founded and incorporated in 1982 by three friends who had met earlier while at

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

— David W. Thompson,

Bruce Walker Ferguson Bruce Walker Ferguson is an educator, entrepreneur and lawyer who is President of the American University of Iraq, Sulaimani and a co-founder of Orbital Sciences Corporation. Early life and education Bruce Walker Ferguson was born in Washingto ...

, and Scott L. Webster. Initial capitalization for Orbital was provided by Fred C. Alcorn, a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

oilman and Sam Dunnam, a Texas businessman in September 1982. In 1985, Orbital procured its first contract for providing up to four transfer orbital stage (TOS) vehicles to

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

. In 1987, the seeds for the

Orbcomm ''ORBCOMM'' is an American company that offers industrial Internet of things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communications hardware, software and services designed to track, monitor, and control fixed and mobile assets in markets including ...

constellation were planted when Orbital began investigating a system using low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to collect data from remote locations. In 1988, Orbital acquired Space Data Corporation in Arizona — one of the world's leading suppliers of suborbital rockets — thereby broadening its rocket business and manufacturing capabilities. This was followed by the opening of a new facility in Chandler, Arizona in 1989 to house the company's expanding rocket business. In 1990, the company successfully carried out eight space missions, highlighted by the initial launch of the

Pegasus Pegasus ( grc-gre, Πήγασος, Pḗgasos; la, Pegasus, Pegasos) is one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine stallion usually depicted as pure white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as hor ...

launch vehicle, the world's first privately developed space launch vehicle (the claim of being the first privately developed space launch vehicle can be contested as Pegasus received significant funding from NASA and

DARPA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. Originally known as the Adv ...

, and a predecessor private rocket exists, the Conestoga rocket). Shortly following the successful Pegasus launch, Orbital conducted an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

(IPO) in 1990 and began trading on the

NASDAQ The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...

stock exchange. In 1993, Orbital established its headquarters in

. In 1994, Orbital successfully conducted the inaugural launch of the

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

(now renamed as Minotaur-C) launch vehicle. In the early 2000s, Orbital continued expanding its missile defense systems business with a US$900 million award to develop, build, test and support interceptor booster vehicles. In 2006, Orbital conducted its 500th mission since the company's founding with products that included satellites, launch vehicles, and missile defense systems. In 2007, the first interplanetary spacecraft built by Orbital,

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

was launched on an eight-year, three-billion-mile journey to the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A major milestone in the company's history was in 2008 when it received a long-term NASA contract to provide cargo transportation services to and from the

International Space Station 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 ...

(ISS) with a value of approximately US$1.9 billion for missions from 2011 to 2015. Orbital used its

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 Nor ...

and

Antares Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ ...

launch vehicle to transport cargo to ISS following the success of

Cygnus Orb-D1 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 ...

and

Cygnus CRS Orb-1 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 launche ...

Acquisitions

Orbital Science made a number of strategic acquisitions in the 1990s and 2000s to strengthen its position in the satellite market. In 1994, Orbital completed acquisition of

Fairchild Industries Fairchild was an American aircraft and aerospace manufacturing company based at various times in Farmingdale, New York; Hagerstown, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas. History Early aircraft The company was founded by Sherman Fairchild in 19 ...

' subsidiary Space and Defense Corporation, and merged the Fairchild Space business with its own satellite design and manufacturing division. The electronics business of this subsidiary was later sold off in 2000.Orbital to Sell Fairchild Defense Unit to Smiths Industries for US$100 Million
, SpaceRef, September 27, 2000 In 1997, Orbital acquired CTA, Inc, a company that, under the spacecraft design engineering and business leadership of Tom van der Heyden - designer of the

GEOStar ''Geostari'' (Georgian: ჯეოსტარი) is the Georgian franchise of the Idol series, which airs on Rustavi 2. Georgia is the fifth former Soviet country to have acquired an ''Idol'' franchise after Armenia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, and Ru ...

spacecraft - had designed and built the first geostationary "lightsat" under contract to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

for Asia's first

Direct Broadcast Satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

(DBS) television broadcast program, and the world's first

S-Band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...

television broadcast satellite - providing an entry into the fast-growing Geosynchronous (GEO) communications satellite market. In 2010, Orbital acquired the Gilbert, Arizona-based satellite development and manufacturing unit from

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...

(General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, formerly Spectrum Astro) to complement its main satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia.

Merger

On 29 April 2014, Orbital Sciences announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Alliant Techsystems to combine Orbital and ATK's Aerospace and Defense (A&D) Groups to create a US$4.5 billion (combined calendar year 2013 annual revenue), 13000-person company. The new company was called Orbital ATK, Inc. On 18 September 2017,

announced plans to purchase Orbital ATK for US$7.8 billion in cash plus assumption of US$1.4 billion in debt. Orbital ATK shareholders approved the buyout on 29 November 2017. The

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...

(FTC) approved the acquisition with conditions on 5 June 2018, and one day later, Orbital ATK were absorbed and became

Business groups

Space Systems Group (SSG)

Orbital was a provider of small- to medium-class satellites. Since the company's founding in 1982, Orbital has delivered 150 spacecraft to commercial, military and civil customers worldwide. To date, these spacecraft have amassed well over 1000 years of on-orbit operations. The communications and imaging satellites developed by Orbital are smaller and more affordable. The

geosynchronous orbit A geosynchronous orbit (sometimes abbreviated GSO) is an Earth-centered orbit with an orbital period that matches Earth's rotation on its axis, 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds (one sidereal day). The synchronization of rotation and orbital ...

(GEO) communications satellites provide commercial satellite services such as direct-to-home digital television, business data transmission, cable program distribution and wireless communications. In addition, Orbital also provides constellations of low Earth orbit communications satellites such as the 35-satellite ORBCOMM data communications network, and the 81 spacecraft (integration and test) for the IridiumNEXT constellation. Earth imagery and high resolution digital imaging satellites such as the OrbView series are also developed and manufactured by Orbital. The science and environmental satellites developed by Orbital perform scientific research, carry out deep space exploration (e.g. Dawn spacecraft), conduct remote sensing missions (e.g. Landsat 4, 5 and 8), and demonstrate new space technologies. In the last 10 years, Orbital has built more scientific and environmental monitoring satellites for NASA than any other company.

Launch Systems Group (LSG)

Orbital's space launch vehicles are considered the industry standard for boosting small payloads to orbit. The Pegasus launch vehicle is launched from the company's

L-1011 The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, also known as the L-1011 (pronounced "El-ten-eleven") and TriStar, is an American medium-to-long-range, wide-body trijet airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation. It was the third wide-body airliner to enter comme ...

carrier aircraft, '' Stargazer'' and has proven to be the industry's small space launch workhorse, having conducted 40 missions from six different launch sites worldwide since 1990. The

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "pa ...

ground-launched launch vehicles combine Pegasus upper-stages with either government-supplied or commercially available first-stage

rocket motor A rocket engine uses stored rocket propellants as the reaction mass for forming a high-speed propulsive jet of fluid, usually high-temperature gas. Rocket engines are reaction engines, producing thrust by ejecting mass rearward, in accordan ...

s to boost larger payloads to orbit.

Minotaur IV Minotaur IV, also known as Peacekeeper SLV and OSP-2 PK is an active expendable launch system derived from the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It is operated by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems, and made its maiden flight on 22 April 2010, carry ...

combines decommissioned Peacekeeper rocket motors with proven Orbital avionics and fairings to provide increased lifting capacity for government-sponsored payloads. With the development of the

space launch vehicle, Orbital is extending its capabilities to provide medium-class launch services for U.S. government, commercial and international customers. The inaugural launch of Antares occurred on 21 April 2013 from Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) at

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. Orbital is also a major provider of suborbital target and interceptor launch vehicles for the U.S. missile defense systems. In the last 10 years, Orbital conducted nearly 50 major launches for the U.S.

Missile Defense Agency The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is the section of the United States government's Department of Defense responsible for developing a layered defense against ballistic missiles. It had its origins in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which ...

(MDA), the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

, the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

and

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...

to develop, test and enhance U.S. missile defense systems.

Advanced Programs Group (APG)

Orbital's Advanced Programs Group focused on developing and producing human-rated space systems, satellites and related systems for national security space programs, and advanced flight systems for atmospheric and space missions. In support of human space systems, Orbital is one of two companies providing commercial cargo resupply services to the ISS for NASA. Orbital's medium-class rocket -

is used to launch the Cygnus advanced maneuvering spacecraft to deliver cargo to the ISS. Under the

Commercial Resupply Services 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 ...

(CRS) contract with NASA, Orbital will perform eight cargo missions to the ISS. Operational flights began in 2013 from the new

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 ...

(MARS) at Wallops Island in Virginia. In addition, the company is exploring opportunities to adapt the Cygnus design for other possible space exploration applications. For National Security Space systems, Orbital provides products ranging from smaller, more affordable spacecraft busses to hosted payload applications. For Advanced Flight systems, Orbital is applying its to design and build an intermediate-class air-launched rocket system for Stratolaunch Systems. Orbital has developed the operational concept and completed the preliminary design for the air-launched rocket. It will be responsible for the development, production, test and operations of the full system and related ground operations.

Technical Services Division (TSD)

The Technical Services Division (TSD) provided engineering, production and technical management expertise primarily for space-related science and defense programs. Typically, it supplies specialized personnel — engineers, scientists, technicians and other professionals — with specific knowledge in the areas that its customers are pursuing. The Orbital employees often work side-by-side with the customers' technical staff at their facilities. They perform a wide range of functions, from system-level efforts such as special payload equipment and training support for NASA's

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

servicing missions to component-level tasks including development of high-energy microwave transmitters for the

National Radio Astronomy Observatory The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) is a federally funded research and development center of the United States National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. for the purpose of radio a ...

(NRAO).

Transportation Management Systems (TMS)

The TMS unit combined

satellite navigation A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pr ...

and

wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided medium for the transfer. The most ...

communications to enable transit control centers to manage the dispatch of public transit, highway service vehicles and commuter light rail systems. As of 2008, the technology was used by more than 60 clients, exceeding 27500 vehicles, or more than 30% of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

fleet. TMS clients included some of the nation's largest fleet management systems, such as

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

In 2008, the technology services provider

Affiliated Computer Services Affiliated Computer Services Inc. (ACS) was a company that provided information technology services as well as business process outsourcing solutions to businesses, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. ACS was based in Dallas, Texas ...

(ACS) Inc. agreed to buy the Transportation Management Systems unit for US$42.5 million. The sale transferred an estimated 130 to 140 Orbital employees based in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...

, to ACS.

Primary facility locations

Orbital's primary locations are listed below- *

- corporate headquarters and primary location for Satellite Design and Manufacturing (located at 45101 "

Warp Drive A warp drive or a drive enabling space warp is a fictional superluminal spacecraft propulsion system in many science fiction works, most notably ''Star Trek'', and a subject of ongoing physics research. The general concept of "warp drive" was i ...

") *

, Wallops Island, Virginia- Launch Vehicle Assembly, Testing and Launch ; Cargo Logistics Spacecraft Processing; Research Rocket Assembly, Test and Launch *

Chandler, Arizona Chandler is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, and a suburb in the Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). It is bordered to the north and west by Tempe, to the north by Mesa, to the west by Phoenix, to the ...

- Launch Vehicle Design and Manufacturing and Program Offices * Gilbert, Arizona- Satellite Design and Manufacturing *

Greenbelt, Maryland Greenbelt is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and a suburb of Washington, D.C. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,921. Greenbelt is the first and the largest of the three experimental and controversial New Deal ...

- Technical Services Division * Vandenberg Air Force Base, California- Launch Vehicle Assembly, Test and Launch *

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

- Southern California Engineering Center *

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...

- Missile Defense Systems Engineering and Manufacturing

Orbital products

Space launch vehicles

- Employing a combination of U.S. government-supplied rocket motors and Orbital's commercial launch technologies, the Minotaur family of launchers provides low-cost access to space for government sponsored payloads. Coyote flt

Minotaur I The Minotaur I, or just Minotaur is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minuteman II missile. It is used to launch small satellites for the US Government, and is a member of the Minotaur family of rockets produced by Orbital Sci ...

- Minotaur I made its inaugural flight in January 2000, successfully delivering several small military and university satellites into orbit and marking the first-ever use of residual U.S. Government

Minuteman Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...

boosters in a space launch vehicle. To date, Minotaur I has conducted 11 missions with a 100% success record, having launched a total of 62 satellites. **

- The Minotaur IV space launch vehicle consists of three Peacekeeper solid rocket

stages Stage or stages may refer to: Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper * S ...

, a commercial Orion 38 fourth-stage motor and subsystems derived from OSC's established space launch boosters, including a flight-proven standard 92-inch fairing. Capable of boosting payloads more than 1,750 kg into orbit, Minotaur IV supports dedicated or shared launch missions and is compatible with multiple U.S. government and commercial launch sites. The inaugural Minotaur IV flight occurred in 2010 and five missions have been conducted through 2016 with a 100% success record boosting nine satellite into orbit and two

hypersonic In aerodynamics, a hypersonic speed is one that exceeds 5 times the speed of sound, often stated as starting at speeds of Mach 5 and above. The precise Mach number at which a craft can be said to be flying at hypersonic speed varies, since in ...

flight vehicles on

suborbital A sub-orbital spaceflight is a spaceflight in which the spacecraft reaches outer space, but its trajectory intersects the atmosphere or surface of the gravitating body from which it was launched, so that it will not complete one orbital r ...

trajectories. **

Minotaur V The Minotaur V is an American expendable launch system derived from the Minotaur IV, itself a derivative of the LGM-118 Peacekeeper ICBM. It was developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation, (now absorbed into Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems) ...

- Minotaur V is a five-stage evolutionary version of Minotaur IV to provide a cost-effective capability to launch U.S. Government-sponsored small spacecraft into high energy trajectories, including Geosynchronous Transfer Orbits (GTO) as well as translunar and beyond. Like Minotaur IV, the first three stages of the Minotaur V are former Peacekeeper solid rocket motors. The fourth and fifth stages are commercial STAR™ motors. The inaugural Minotaur V mission successfully boosted NASA's

LADEE The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE; ) was a NASA lunar exploration and technology demonstration mission. It was launched on a Minotaur V rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on September 7, 2013. During its se ...

spacecraft on a lunar trajectory in September 2013. ** Minotaur VI - The Minotaur VI vehicle adds a lower stage to the existing and flight demonstrated Minotaur IV vehicle configuration providing a significant increase in performance with only a modest increase in cost. Capable of boosting up to 2,600 kg to Low-Earth Orbit, Minotaur VI is also available with an optional upper-stage motor for high energy trajectory missions. ** Minotaur-C - The Minotaur-C (formerly known as Taurus) space launch vehicle is a commercial variant of the Minotaur product line designed to serve the U.S. government market. Of 9 launches, 6 have been successful. *

- The three-stage Pegasus is used to deploy small satellites weighing up to 1,000 pounds into low-Earth orbit. Pegasus is carried aloft by the "Stargazer" L-1011 aircraft to approximately 40,000 feet over open ocean, where it is released and free-falls five seconds before igniting its first-stage rocket motor. With its unique delta-shaped wing, Pegasus typically delivers satellites into orbit in a little over 10 minutes. Pegasus has conducted 42 missions since its inaugural launch in 1990, 37 of which were successful. KSC-04PD-2234

* Pegasus II - Pegasus II was to be an air-launched orbital rocket, which was under development in 2012–2015. The design was "shelved" by Stratolaunch in May 2015. *

- Antares is a two-stage launch vehicle designed to deliver medium-class payloads weighing up to 6120 kg into space. Antares utilizes refurbished Russian-built engines which were originally manufactured in the 1960s and 1970s for the Soviet moon rocket. Initially developed to demonstrate commercial re-supply of the International Space Station under a NASA contract, the first launch took place on April 21, 2013, from Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia. The fifth launch ended in failure on October 28, 2014, completely destroying the vehicle and damaging the launch pad. * Antares follow on - Following the loss of the Antares rocket on the Orb-3 mission in October 2014, Orbital announced that it would not use "the 40-year-old

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 Nikolay Kuznetsov. The NK-33 was among the most powerfu ...

engines on the rocket’s next flight." The new first stage engine is reportedly the

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

RD-193 The RD-193 is a high performance single-combustion chamber rocket engine, developed in Russia from 2011 to 2013. It is derived from the RD-170 originally used in the Energia launcher. The RD-193 is fueled by a kerosene / LOX mixture and uses an ...

rather than the AJ-26 engines used in the initial version of the Antares launch vehicle, which were remanufactured Russian

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 powerf ...

s. Orbital Sciences Corp. has reportedly signed a contract with Russia's

NPO Energomash NPO Energomash “V. P. Glushko” is a major Russian rocket engine manufacturer. The company primarily develops and produces liquid propellant rocket engines. Energomash originates from the Soviet design bureau OKB-456, which was founded in 1 ...

to supply 60 new built RD-181 engines for the Antares rocket. While Antares/AJ-26 is not flying and the follow-on launch vehicle is in development and test, Orbital is shopping to purchase launch services for its Cygnus capsule to

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 ...

cargo runs temporarily from another launch service provider.

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) to ISS

With the successful demonstration in September 2013 of the Cygnus spacecraft and the

launch vehicle under the

Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) was a NASA program to coordinate the development of vehicles for the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station by private companies. The program was announced on January 18, 200 ...

(COTS) program, Orbital commenced regular ISS cargo missions under the

(CRS) contract. The total NASA contract to Orbital is worth $1.9 Billion for providing eight pressurized cargo missions to the ISS. Cygnus is capable of delivering 2,000 kg of pressurized cargo to the ISS. An enhanced version to be flown in later CRS missions is able to deliver 2,700 kg of pressurized cargo. The

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

of the eight contracted Cygnus missions to the ISS was completed on 18 February 2014. The October 28, 2014, launch failure was the third contracted Cygnus mission to the ISS.

Missile Defense Systems - interceptors and targets

Orbital's Missile Defense Systems product line consists of interceptors and target vehicles. * The

Ground-Based Interceptor The Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) is the anti-ballistic missile component of the United States' Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system. Description This interceptor is made up of a boost vehicle, constructed by Orbital Sciences Corporat ...

- Orbital is the sole supplier of interceptor boosters for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency's

Ground-Based Midcourse Defense Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD) is the United States' anti-ballistic missile system for intercepting incoming warheads in space, during the midcourse phase of ballistic trajectory flight. It is a major component of the American missile de ...

(GMD) system, to defend against long-range ballistic missile attacks. The GMD system is designed to intercept and destroy hostile ballistic missiles in their midcourse phase of flight before they reenter the Earth's atmosphere. Orbital is responsible for the design, development and testing of the Orbital Boost Vehicle (OBV), a silo-launched, three-stage rocket derived from its Pegasus, Taurus and Minotaur space launch boosters. The OBV has successfully conducted multiple test flights and has been deployed in silos in

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. * Ballistic Missile Targets- Orbital's family of target vehicles extends from long-range ballistic target launch vehicles, which include targets for testing MDA's GMD system, to medium- and short-range target vehicles. Current programs include Air-launched Intermediate-Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) targets and Ground-launched

Intercontinental Ballistic Missile An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...

(ICBM) targets. * GQM-163A “Coyote” Anti-Ship Cruise Missile Target - The GQM-163A “Coyote” is used for Anti-Ship Cruise Missile (ASCM) targets. It can achieve cruise speeds of over Mach 2.5 while flying approximately 15 feet above the ocean's surface ("sea-skimming" trajectory). In addition to this sea-skimming trajectory, Orbital has also successfully demonstrated a "high diver" trajectory mission.

Communications satellites

GEO communications satellites
With its proprietary

GEOStar-2 The STAR-2 Bus is a fully redundant, flight-proven, spacecraft bus designed for geosynchronous missions. It is a satellite platform, designed and developed by Thomas van der Heyden for the Indonesian Cakrawarta satellite program in the early 19 ...

satellite platform, Orbital has become a leading supplier of 1.5 - 5.5 kilowatt Geosynchronous-Earth Orbit (GEO)

communications satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. C ...

s used to provide direct-to-home TV broadcasting, cable program distribution, business data network capacity, regional mobile communications and similar services. With its new GEOStar-3 satellite platform, Orbital is extending its capabilities with up to 8 kW of total satellite

payload Payload is the object or the entity which is being carried by an aircraft or launch vehicle. Sometimes payload also refers to the carrying capacity of an aircraft or launch vehicle, usually measured in terms of weight. Depending on the nature of ...

power. The list of Orbital built GeoStar satellites are provided next. *

IndoStar-1 IndoStar-1, also known as Cakrawarta-1, was a communication satellite that was launched the evening of November 12, 1997 at 21:48 GMT aboard an Ariane 44L-3 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana. As the first direct broadcasting satellite (DBS) in ...

BSAT-2a BSAT-2a, was a geostationary communications satellite operated by B-SAT which was designed and manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the STAR-1 platform. It was stationed on the 110° East orbital slot along its companion BSA ...

BSAT-2b BSAT-2b, was a geostationary communications satellite ordered by B-SAT which was designed and manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the STAR-1 platform. It was designed to be stationed on the 110° East orbital slot along its ...

BSAT-2c BSAT-2c, was a geostationary communications satellite operated by B-SAT and was designed and manufactured by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the STAR-1 platform. It was stationed on the 110° East orbital slot along its companion BSAT ...

N-Star c N-STAR c, is a geostationary communications satellite originally ordered by NTT DoCoMo and later fully acquired by SKY Perfect JSAT Group. It was designed and manufactured by Lockheed Martin, which acted as prime, developed the payload and did ...

* Galaxy 12 *

Galaxy 14 A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the ...

Galaxy 15 Galaxy 15 is an American telecommunications satellite which is owned by Intelsat. It was launched for and originally operated by PanAmSat, and was subsequently transferred to Intelsat when the two companies merged in 2006. It was originally posit ...

TELKOM-2 Telkom-2 was a geosynchronous communications satellite built by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) for Indonesia's state-owned telecommunications company, PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia Tbk (PT Telkom). Telkom-2 was successfully launched on 16 N ...

Optus D1 This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Optus' satellites are divided into 4 classes A, B, C and D. As ...

Optus D2 This is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney's Northern Beaches. Optus' satellites are divided into 4 classes A, B, C and D. As ...

Optus D3 Optus D3 is an Australian geostationary communications satellite, which is operated by Optus and provides communications services to Australasia. D3 was the third Optus-D satellite to be launched. It is a satellite, which was constructed by Orb ...

Intelsat 11 Intelsat 11 is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat planned to be located at 43.0° West longitude, serving the Americas market. Intelsat 11 is intended to replace Intelsat 3R which is nearing the end of its design life. It was built b ...

Horizons-2 Horizons-2 is a communications satellite owned by Horizons Satellite, a joint venture between SKY Perfect JSAT Group and Intelsat. Its orbital slot is located at 74° west longitude. Launch Horizons-2 was launched from the Guiana Space Centr ...

Thor 5 Thor 5, also known as Thor 2R is a Norwegian communications satellite. It was successfully launched for Telenor atop an International Launch Services Proton-M/ Briz-M carrier rocket, at 11:34 GMT on 11 February 2008. It is based on the STAR- ...

AMC-21 AMC-21, or GE-21, is an American communications satellite operated by SES S.A., formerly SES World Skies and SES Americom. It was launched in August 2008 and is expected to remain in service for approximately 15 years. It is currently located at ...

NSS-9 NSS-9 is a communications satellite owned by SES WORLD SKIES. It is an all C-band satellite intended as a replacement for NSS-5, and has three beams with 44 active C-band transponders. NSS-9 was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation and launched ...

MEASAT-3a MEASAT-3a is a communications satellite which MEASAT Satellite Systems intends to operate in geosynchronous orbit at 91.5 degrees East longitude. It was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, based on the STAR-2 spacecraft platform. History Orbi ...

Intelsat 15 Intelsat 15, also known as IS-15, is a communications satellite owned by Intelsat. Intelsat 15 was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation, on a Star-2.4. It is located at 85° E longitude on the geostationary orbit. It was launched from Ba ...

* Intelsat 16 *

KOREASAT 6 Koreasat 6 is a South Korean communications satellite operated by Koreasat. Koreasat 6 is the second satellite launched by operator KT (Korea Telecom) Corporation which weighed about 2750 kg at the launching time. This satellite orbital posit ...

Intelsat 18 Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...

* New Dawn *

SES-1 SES-1 is a geostationary communications satellite which is operated by SES World Skies, then by SES S.A. History It was originally ordered by SES Americom as a ground spare for AMC-5R, however in April 2008 a decision was made to launch ...

SES-2 SES-2 is a communications satellite operated by SES World Skies. It was launched alongside the Arabsat-5C satellite. Spacecraft The platform is home to the first hosted payload, a mechanism by which governmental entities can fly modules on ...

SES-3 SES-3 is a communications satellite operated by SES World Skies, then by SES S.A. Spacecraft SES-3 was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC), and is based on the Star-2.4 satellite bus. It is equipped with 24 C-band, and 24 Ku-band ...

HYLAS 2 HYLAS 2 is a geostationary High throughput satellite operated by Avanti Communications. HYLAS, an acronym for ''Highly Adaptable Satellite'', was launched on an Ariane 5 from Guyana Space Centre at Kourou, French Guiana, on August 2, 2012. C ...

* Intelsat 23 *

Star One C3 Star One C3 is a communications satellite operated by Star One, a subsidiary of Embratel. It was built by Orbital Sciences Corporation based on the STAR-2 satellite bus, and was launched on 10 November 2012 21:05 UTC by an Ariane 5ECA carrier roc ...

* Azerspace/Africasat-1a * Mexsat Bicentenario *

SES-8 SES-8 is a geostationary Communications satellite operated by SES S.A. SES-8 was successfully launched on SpaceX Falcon 9 v1.1 on 3 December 2013, 22:41:00 UTC. It was the first flight of any SpaceX launch vehicle to a supersynchronous tran ...

Thaicom 6 THAICOM 6 ( th, ไทยคม 6) is a Thai satellite of the Thaicom series, operated by Thaicom Public Company Limited, a subsidiary of INTOUCH headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. THAICOM 6 is colocated with Thaicom 5 at 78.5 degrees East, i ...

Amazonas 4A The Amazonas 4A, renamed in 2016 Amazonas 4 and since 2017 known as the Hispasat 74W-1, is a Spanish commercial communications satellite developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation and operated by Hispasat. It was successfully launched in 2014 and ...

*SKYM-1 for

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

(in development/production at time of merger) *

Thaicom 8 THAICOM 8 ( th, ไทยคม 8) is a Thai satellite of the THAICOM series, operated by Thaicom Public Limited Company, a subsidiary of INTOUCH, and is considered to be the 8th THAICOM satellite headquartered in Bangkok, Thailand. Overvi ...

(in development/production at time of merger) LEO communications satellites ;ORBCOMM Orbital is also a provider of

low-Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never m ...

(LEO) communications satellites, having conceived, built and deployed the

ORBCOMM ''ORBCOMM'' is an American company that offers industrial Internet of things (IoT) and machine to machine (M2M) communications hardware, software and services designed to track, monitor, and control fixed and mobile assets in markets including ...

network. ORBCOMM was the first global communications network to employ a constellation of LEO satellites. From 1994 -1999, Orbital built and deployed 35 satellites, and integrated five “gateway” ground stations and a network operations center to manage the satellites and process their data. ;Iridium NEXT Under a contract with

Thales Alenia Space Thales Alenia Space () is a Franco-Italian aerospace manufacturer. A joint venture between the French technology corporation Thales Group (67%) and Italian defense conglomerate Leonardo (33%), the company is the largest satellite manufacture ...

, Orbital is conducting integration and test services for

Iridium NEXT The Iridium satellite constellation provides L band voice and data information coverage to satellite phones, pagers and integrated transceivers over the entire surface of Earth. Iridium Communications owns and operates the constellation, addi ...

, the next-generation satellite constellation of Iridium Communications Inc. Orbital will integrate the communications payloads and platforms for 81 low-Earth orbit Iridium NEXT satellites and test the systems at its satellite manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona.

Imaging satellites

Orbital Imaging spacecraft are designed to provide commercial Earth imaging services. The OrbView series of spacecraft paved the way for today's space-based Earth imaging industry. In addition to the OrbView satellites the company also built the

GeoEye-1 ''GeoEye-1'' is a high-resolution Earth observation satellite owned by DigitalGlobe, launched in September 2008. The satellite was acquired in the 2013 purchase of GeoEye. History On 1 December 2004, General Dynamics C4 Systems announced it h ...

high resolution imaging satellite. Orbital LEOStar-2 and -3 spacecraft platforms are designed to support a variety of multispectral, visible and thermal imaging payloads. A list of commercial imaging satellites built by Orbital is provided next. *

(originally known as OrbView-5) *OrbView-4 *OrbView-3 * OrbView-2 *OrbView-1 * Earlybird-1

Science and environmental satellites

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite artist concept (transparent background)

Orbital built Science and Environmental satellites conduct

astrophysics Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...

, Remote sensing/Earth Observation,

heliophysics Heliophysics (from the prefix " helio", from Attic Greek ''hḗlios'', meaning Sun, and the noun "physics": the science of matter and energy and their interactions) is the physics of the Sun and its connection with the Solar System. NASA define ...

planetary exploration This is a timeline of Solar System exploration ordered by date of spacecraft launch. It includes: *All spacecraft that have left Earth orbit for the purposes of Discovery and exploration of the Solar System, Solar System exploration (or were la ...

and technology demonstration missions. These satellites are built on Orbital's LEOStar-1,-2, or -3 satellite platforms depending on the mission requirements and budget. Astrophysics satellites
Orbital's current and heritage astrophysics satellites are as listed below: *

Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS, Explorer 95 or MIDEX-7) is a space telescope for NASA's Explorer program, designed to search for exoplanets using the transit method in an area 400 times larger than that covered by the ''Kepler ...

(TESS) for

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...

- launched in 2018 *

Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array NuSTAR (Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, also named Explorer 93 and SMEX-11) is a NASA space-based X-ray telescope that uses a conical approximation to a Wolter telescope to focus high energy X-rays from astrophysical sources, especially ...

(NuSTAR) for NASA/ JPL- launched in 2012 *

Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (FGST, also FGRST), formerly called the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is a space observatory being used to perform gamma-ray astronomy observations from low Earth orbit. Its main instrument is ...

for NASA GSFC- launched in 2008 *

Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Mission Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, previously called the Swift Gamma-Ray Burst Explorer, is a NASA three-telescope space observatory for studying gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and monitoring the afterglow in X-ray, and UV/Visible light at the location o ...

for NASA GSFC- launched in 2004 *

Galaxy Evolution Explorer Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX or Explorer 83 or SMEX-7) was a NASA orbiting space telescope designed to observe the universe in ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation in the universe. In addition to paving the way ...

(GALEX) for NASA GSFC- launched in 2003 *

Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE, Explorer 77, and MIDEX-0) represented the next generation, high-orbit, ultraviolet space observatory covering the wavelength range of 90.5–119.5 nanometre (nm) of the NASA operated by the Johns Ho ...

(FUSE) for NASA/

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

- launched in 1999 *

Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer The Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE or Explorer 67) was a NASA space telescope for ultraviolet astronomy. EUVE was a part of NASA's Explorer spacecraft series. Launched on 7 June 1992. With instruments for ultraviolet (UV) radiation between ...

(EUVE) for NASA- launched in 1992 Remote sensing/Earth observation
Orbital's current and heritage Remote Sensing/Earth Observation satellites are as listed below: *

Ionospheric Connection Explorer Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is a satellite designed to investigate changes in the ionosphere of Earth, the dynamic region high in our atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather from above. ICON studies the i ...

(ICON) for NASA GSFC- launched in 2019 * Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) for NASA GSFC- launched in 2018 *

Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) is an American environmental science satellite which launched on 2 July 2014. A NASA mission, it is a replacement for the Orbiting Carbon Observatory which was lost in a launch failure in 2009. It is the seco ...

(OCO-2) for NASA/JPL- launched in 2014 *

Landsat 8 Landsat 8 is an American Earth observation satellite launched on 11 February 2013. It is the eighth satellite in the Landsat program; the seventh to reach orbit successfully. Originally called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), it is a ...

for NASA/

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...

- launched in 2013 * Glory for NASA GSFC- launched in 2011 (did not achieve orbit due to a launch failure) *

Orbiting Carbon Observatory The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) is a NASA satellite mission intended to provide global space-based observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (). The original spacecraft was lost in a launch failure on 24 February 2009, when the payload f ...

(OCO) for NASA/JPL- launched in 2009 (did not achieve orbit due to a launch failure) *

Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM or Explorer 90) is a NASA satellite originally launched to conduct a 26-month study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). Its mission was extended, and as of 2022 is still operational. It is the ninetieth Exp ...

(AIM) for NASA/

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

- launched in 2007 * FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC for

National Space Organization The National Space Organization (NSPO or NSO) is the national civilian space agency of the Republic of China (Taiwan), part of the National Applied Research Laboratories under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology (Taiwan), ...

Taiwan- launched in 2006 *

Coriolis Coriolis may refer to: * Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis (1792–1843), French mathematician, mechanical engineer and scientist * Coriolis force, the apparent deflection of moving objects from a straight path when viewed from a rotating frame of referen ...

for

Naval Research Laboratory The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the corporate research laboratory for the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. It was founded in 1923 and conducts basic scientific research, applied research, technological ...

and

Air Force Research Laboratory The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is a scientific research organization operated by the United States Air Force Materiel Command dedicated to leading the discovery, development, and integration of aerospace warfighting technologies, pl ...

- launched in 2003 * QuikTOMS for NASA GSFC- launched in 2001 (did not achieve orbit due to a launch failure) *

SeaStar Starfish or sea stars are Star polygon, star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class (biology), class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to brittle star, ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to ...

for NASA/ ORBIMAGE- launched in 1997 *MicroLab-1 for NASA/ UCAR- launched in 1995 *

TOPEX/Poseidon TOPEX/Poseidon was a joint satellite altimeter mission between NASA, the U.S. space agency; and CNES, the French space agency, to map ocean surface topography. Launched on August 10, 1992, it was the first major oceanographic research satellite. ...

for NASA/

CNES The (CNES; French: ''Centre national d'études spatiales'') is the French government space agency (administratively, a "public administration with industrial and commercial purpose"). Its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is und ...

(France)- launched in 1992 *

Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was a NASA-operated orbital observatory whose mission was to study the Earth's atmosphere, particularly the protective ozone layer. The satellite was deployed from Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' durin ...

(UARS) for NASA- launched in 1991 *

Landsat 5 Landsat 5 was a low Earth orbit satellite launched on March 1, 1984, to collect imagery of the surface of Earth. A continuation of the Landsat Program, Landsat 5 was jointly managed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the National Aeronautic ...

for NASA/

- launched in 1984 (the satellite holds

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for longest operating earth observing satellite) *

Landsat 4 Landsat 4 is the fourth satellite of the Landsat program. It was launched on July 16, 1982, with the primary goal of providing a global archive of satellite imagery. Although the Landsat Program is managed by NASA, data from Landsat 4 was coll ...

for NASA/USGS- launched in 1982 Heliophysics
Orbital's heritage Heliophysics satellites are as listed below: *

Interstellar Boundary Explorer Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX or Explorer 91 or SMEX-10) is a NASA satellite in Earth orbit that uses energetic neutral atoms (ENAs) to image the interaction region between the Solar System and interstellar space. The mission is part o ...

(IBEX) for NASA/ SwRI- launched in 2008 *

Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) was a NASA-sponsored satellite mission that measured incoming X-ray, ultraviolet, visible, near-infrared, and total solar radiation. These measurements specifically addressed long-term climat ...

(SORCE) for NASA/ LASP- launched in 2003 * Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) for NASA/

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

- launched in 2002 * Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor Satellite (ACRIMSAT) for NASA/ JPL- launched in 1999 Planetary exploration
Orbital's heritage Planetary Exploration Heliophysics satellites are as listed below: *

for NASA/ JPL- launched in 2007 *

Deep Space 1 ''Deep Space 1'' (DS1) was a NASA technology demonstration spacecraft which flew by an asteroid and a comet. It was part of the New Millennium Program, dedicated to testing advanced technologies. Launched on 24 October 1998, the ''Deep Space 1 ...

for NASA/ JPL- launched in 1998

National security systems

Orbital's national security systems range from smaller, more affordable spacecraft buses (e.g. disaggregated systems) to hosted payload applications. Orbital advocates disaggregated systems because conceptually disaggregated systems can lower the cost and accelerate the development and deployment of national security space systems. For example, Orbital's GEOStar-1 spacecraft provides a compact platform optimized for

GEO Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”. GEO or Geo may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...

missions (adaptable for MEO for launch aboard

Falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

, and EELV launch vehicles to deliver resilient capabilities in a relatively short period of time (years instead of decades). Orbital's

hosted payload A hosted payload is a module attached to a commercial satellite with communications circuitry that operates independently of the main spacecraft but which shares the satellite's power supply and transponders. The concept has been also been referre ...

capabilities in national security systems include the ''Hosted Infrared Payload'' ''(CHIRP)'' program for the

. The wide-field of view sensor was hosted on an Orbital-built commercial GEO communications satellite. Orbital's hosted payload program takes advantage of the high frequency of commercial satellite launches and the excess resources that typically exist on a commercial communications satellite to provide frequent and low-cost access to space for National Security Systems.

Advanced flight systems

Orbital's current advanced flight systems programs include the contract with Stratolaunch Systems to design a new intermediate-class rocket to be carried aloft and launched from the largest aircraft ever built- Stratolaunch carrier aircraft. Orbital is responsible for the program's overall systems engineering, and the development, production, test, and operations of the air-launch rocket and related ground operations, including payload and launch vehicle integration. A demo launch is currently scheduled for 2017. Orbital's heritage programs in advanced flight systems include the NASA

X-34 The Orbital Sciences X-34 was intended to be a low-cost testbed for demonstrating "key technologies" that could be integrated into the Reusable Launch Vehicle program. It was intended to be an autonomous pilotless craft powered by a " Fastrac" li ...

and X-43 programs, and the Orion Launch Abort System, among others.

References

External links

Orbital Sciences Corporation official website
{{Authority control Companies formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange Aerospace companies of the United States Commercial launch service providers Companies based in Dulles, Virginia Manufacturing companies established in 1982 American companies established in 1982 Private spaceflight companies Spacecraft manufacturers 1982 establishments in Virginia Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2015 2015 disestablishments in Virginia American companies disestablished in 2015

History

Acquisitions

Merger

Business groups

Space Systems Group (SSG)

Launch Systems Group (LSG)

Advanced Programs Group (APG)

Technical Services Division (TSD)

Transportation Management Systems (TMS)

Primary facility locations

Orbital products

Space launch vehicles

Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) to ISS

Missile Defense Systems - interceptors and targets

Communications satellites

Imaging satellites

Science and environmental satellites

National security systems

Advanced flight systems

See also

References

External links