NASA’s Antares ORB-3 Rocket Exploded Seconds After Take-Off

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. — Antares ORB-3 rocket on it’s way to the International Space Station exploded six seconds after launch from Wallops Island Tuesday night.

NASA reports the Antares rocket “suffered a catastrophic anomaly” just after liftoff at 6:22 p.m. There is significant property and vehicle damage at Wallops Flight Facility, but no people have been injured.

The explosion occured six seconds after liftoff, NASA officials said during a live stream after the explosion. The cargo vehicle attacked to the rocket was carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies, including about 1,300 pounds of food. The cargo also included an array of science experiments, including some designed by high school students.

ANTARES ORB-3 LAUNCH VIEWING MAP

ORB-3 Launch Viewing Map

Can you see the Antares launch from your location? The Antares launch scheduled Oct. 27 will be visible to residents in the mid-Atlantic, weather permitting. Lift-off of the Antares rocket is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. (EDT), with rendezvous and berthing with the ISS early in the morning on November 2. Taking advantage of Cygnus’ operational capabilities, Orbital is launching the Orb-3 mission to orbit several days earlier than necessary to preserve schedule flexibility and time its arrival at the station to conform to other visiting vehicle operations.

Antares Rocket Launch Delayed Due to Hurricane Gonzalo

A team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia has secured the NASA temporary tracking facilities on Cooper’s Island in Bermuda in preparation for the expected arrival of Hurricane Gonzalo.

Because of the hurricane preparations, uncertainty of the storm and the time required to re-establish the temporary site once the storm passes, the NASA tracking facility will not be able to support the launch of an Antares rocket Oct. 24. The facility is a required asset for supporting ISS cargo resupply mission from Wallops.

Orbital Science Corp’s Antares Rocket on pad 0A at Wallops Island Virginia.
Image Credit: NASA/P. Black

Rocket Launches Scheduled between August 12 and September 24 from Wallops

UPDATE: The scheduled launch of a Terrier-Lynx suborbital rocket for the Department of Defense Saturday, Aug. 16, from NASA’s launch range at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia has been postponed. The new launch date is 9 to 11:30 p.m. EDT, Saturday, Aug. 23.

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. – Two Terrier-Lynx suborbital rockets are scheduled for launch between August 12 and September 24 for the Department of Defense from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The rockets will be launched on separate days. The second rocket is expected to be launched about two weeks after the first rocket. The launch windows are (all times are EDT):
11:30 p.m. – 1:30 a.m. August 12/13
10:30 p.m. – 12:30 a.m. August 16/17
9:00 – 11:00 p.m. August 23
7:30 – 9:30 p.m. August 27
5:30 – 7:30 a.m. September 20
4:00 – 6:00 a.m. September 24
The rockets may be visible to residents in the mid-Atlantic region.

VISIBILITY MAP FOR THE TWO SURROUNDING ROCKET MISSIONS

At the request of DoD project managers, no real-time launch status updates will be available. The launches will not be shown live on the Internet nor will launch status updates be provided on social media once the countdown begins. The NASA Visitor Center at Wallops will not be open for viewing the launches.

Smartphone users can download the “What’s Up at Wallops” app, which contains information on the launches as well as a compass showing the precise direction for launch viewing.

The app is available for download at: http://go.nasa.gov/17veCYT.

Antares Rocket Ready for Launch

An Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket is seen on launch Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, Monday, Jan.6, 2014 in advance of a planned Wednesday, Jan. 8th, 1:32 p.m. EST launch. The Antares will launch a Cygnus spacecraft on a cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station. The Orbital-1 mission is Orbital Sciences’ first contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Among the cargo aboard Cygnus set to launch to the space station are science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts and other hardware.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

AIMM Prepares for ORB-1 Launch

AIMM’s Senior Vice President, Engineering & Digital Technologies, Jeff Elliott is heading back to NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility this week in preparation for the ISS Commercial Resupply Services Mission (ORB-1) launch. The launch is currently scheduled for Tuesday, December 17, at approximately 10:04 p.m. from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. AIMM will be providing broadcast engineering and video production support.

According to Orbital’s mission updates, Antares and Cygnus teams are in the advanced stages of preparation for the operational resupply mission to the International Space Station. Over the next 11 days, major operational events are scheduled to take place. Among them, the movement of the Antares rocket to the transporter/erector/launcher (TEL) and a series of tests to ensure all systems are properly working together. The roll out and initial on-pad operations that are currently scheduled for December 15.

To read more about the launch click here.

 

AIMM Provided Broadcast Engineering Support at NASA’s ORS-3 Launch

AIMM provided Broadcast Engineering and Video Production of the Air Force Minotaur I rocket lifted off NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on November 19, 2013. The launch is performing various tests as part of the Air Force’s Operationally Responsive Space Office’s ORS-3 mission deploying satellites in space.

Here is a brief video of the launch. Enjoy!

ANTARES / CYGNUS UPDATE

AIMM is at Wallops Island Virginia again this week preparing the studio that will air the live video stream for the ANTARES Rocket and CYGNUS Spacecraft test launch. The test launch, which was originally set to take place today, was postponed until tomorrow. We’ve just received confirmation that the launch will proceed as planned. Stay tuned for the link to watch it live tomorrow at 10:50am. 

Courtesy of http://www.nasa.gov

Wallops Grants Authority to Proceed for Launch of Orbital Demonstration Mission

September 17, 2013 – 10:14 AM EDT

NASA Wallops Flight Facility Site Director Bill Wrobel has granted Authority to Proceed (ATP) for the Wednesday, Sept. 18, launch of a demonstration mission to the International Space Station by the Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va. Orbital is targeting a 10:50 a.m. EDT launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at Wallops.