Video: Cargo ship departs International Space Station

The Cygnus cargo craft, built by Orbital/ATK in Dulles, Va., departed the International Space Station on Friday, a little over two months after delivering almost four tons of supplies to the station’s residents. Dubbed the “SS Deke Slayton II”, the resupply vehicle, now loaded with trash, will be commanded to deorbit on Saturday, for a destructive re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.

Kaine Touts Export Opportunities At Orbital’s Satellite Plant - Leesburg Today Online—Daily News Coverage of Loudoun County, Leesburg, Ashburn: Business

Kaine Touts Export Opportunities At Orbital’s Satellite Plant - Leesburg Today Online—Daily News Coverage of Loudoun County, Leesburg, Ashburn: Business

NASA to test booster for new Space Launch System

The largest, most powerful booster ever built for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), will fire up for a ground test at 11:30 a.m. EDT March 11, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems' test facilities in Promontory, Utah.

The two-minute static test is a significant milestone for the SLS as part of NASA's journey to Mars, and follows years of development. It is one of two ground tests to qualify the booster for flight. A second test is planned for early 2016. Once qualification is complete, the hardware will be ready to help send the rocket, along with NASA's Orion spacecraft, on its first flight test.

A public viewing area is available along State Road 83 North approximately 20 miles west of Corinne, Utah. The gate to the public viewing area opens at 9 a.m. EDT March11. Overflow parking is available, if needed.

When completed, two solid-rocket boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS as it begins its deep space missions. The boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight, providing more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the rocket to escape Earth's gravitational pull.

The first flight test of the SLS will feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS is updated, it will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into the solar system.

Orbital Sciences delays cargo ship launch by a day

Orbital Sciences' third Cygnus cargo ship is scheduled to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, Wallops Island, Va., on Saturday at 1:14 p.m. EDT.

Weather conditions at Wallops Tuesday night delayed the scheduled rollout of Orbital's Antares rocket to the launch pad Wednesday, prompting the company to delay launch by a day.

Cygnus will be filled with approximately 3,300 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station (ISS), including science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and hardware.

Among the items headed to the ISS are a flock of nanosatellites designed to take images of Earth, developed by Planet Labs of San Francisco, and a satellite-based investigation called TechEdSat-4 built by NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., which aims to develop technology that eventually will enable small samples to be returned to Earth from the space station. In addition, a host of student experiments are on board as part of the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, an initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and NanoRacks.

If Cygnus launches as scheduled, the spacecraft will arrive at the space station on Tuesday. Station commander Steven Swanson of NASA and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency will be standing by in the station's cupola to capture the resupply craft with the station's robotic arm and install it on the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module.

Orbital-2 mission to space station

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo ship is scheduled to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on July 11 at 1:40 p.m. EDT.

The Cygnus will be filled with more than 3,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 40 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory, crew provisions, spare parts and experiment hardware.

Among the research investigations headed to the space station aboard the flight, known as Orbital-2, are a flock of nanosatellites that are designed to take images of Earth, developed by Planet Labs of San Francisco; and a satellite-related investigation called TechEdSat-4 built by NASA's Ames Research Center in California, which aims to develop technology that will eventually enable small samples to be returned to Earth from the space station. In addition, a host of student experiments are being flown in association with the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program, an initiative of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and NanoRacks.

If Cygnus launches as scheduled, the spacecraft will arrive at the space station on July 15. Station commander Steven Swanson of NASA and Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency will be standing by in the station's cupola to capture the resupply craft with the station's robotic arm and install it on the Earth-facing port of the station's Harmony module.