Tag: RD-181
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Station managers push back next Cygnus cargo flight to November
A photo of the Antares rocket’s twin RD-181 engines installed on the rocket slated to launch Orbital ATK’s next Cygnus supply ship to the International Space Station. Credit: Orbital ATK NASA and Orbital ATK have agreed to schedule the launch of the next Cygnus supply ship for Nov. 10 from Wallops Island on Virginia’s Eastern…
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Antares rocket’s return-to-flight slips to August
The Antares rocket’s two RD-181 engines fired on a launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia, on May 31. Credit: NASA The first launch of Orbital ATK’s redesigned Antares rocket since an engine failure doomed a mission in 2014 will likely be delayed more than one month until August to complete analysis of data acquired during…
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Re-engined Antares rocket completes ground test firing
Orbital ATK’s upgraded Antares rocket, featuring newly-built RD-181 main engines, completed a 30-second test firing on a launch pad on Virginia’s Eastern Shore on Tuesday. The hotfire test is a key step before the Antares rocket returns to flight in July, resuming cargo service to the International Space Station from Virginia. Working from a control…
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Upgraded Antares rolls out to launch pad for tests
An Antares first stage booster rolls out to pad 0A at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops, Island, Virginia, on Thursday. Credit: Orbital ATK An Antares booster emerged from its hangar on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and rolled out to its launch pad Thursday for the first time since a rocket failure grounded Orbital ATK’s cargo…
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New engines arrive at Antares rocket launch site
File photo of an Antares rocket on its launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. Credit: Orbital ATK The first pair of new Russian main engines for Orbital ATK’s modernized Antares rocket has arrived at the company’s Virginia launch base as engineers prepare to return the commercial booster to flight after a catastrophic failure last year.…
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Orbital Sciences signs contract for new Antares engines
File photo of an Antares rocket rolling out to the launch pad at Wallops Island, Virginia. The rocket’s two AJ26 engines will be replaced by RD-181 engines. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky Orbital Sciences Corp. and Energia have signed a contract worth approximately $1 billion for up to 60 Russian-made RD-181 rocket engines to power the redesigned…