Cygnus Resupply Ship Bound for International Space Station Explodes Seconds After Launch

The Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo craft carrying supplies to the International Space Station has exploded just seconds after launch.

The Antares rocket exploded six seconds after launch. (credit: NASA)

Cygnus which launched in perfect conditions from Pad0A on Wallops Island at 10:22 p.m. Irish Time to begin a nine and a half minute journey to low-Earth orbit suffered a catastrophic anomaly six seconds after launch, falling back down to the launch pad moments later. 

Launch personnel confirmed that there were no personnel in the area at the time of the incident, and that damage was isolated to property within the vicinity.

The Expedition 41 crew aboard the International Space Station were informed shortly after the accident occurred.

Orbital Sciences issued the following statement shortly after the accident:

          “It is far too early to know the details of what happened,” said Mr. Frank Culbertson, Orbital’s Executive Vice President and General Manager of its Advanced Programs Group.“As we begin to gather information, our primary concern lies with the ongoing safety and security of those involved in our response and recovery operations. We will conduct a thorough investigation immediately to determine the cause of this failure and what steps can be taken to avoid a repeat of this incident. As soon as we understand the cause we will begin the necessary work to return to flight to support our customers and the nation’s space program.

Orbital will provide more information as it becomes available and is verified."

 

Among the science Cygnus was to carry to the space station was a study to enable the first space-based observations of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere, as well as a number of student investigations from around the world.

Cygnus was scheduled to arrive at the station and be berthed to the Earth having port of the Harmony Node on November 2.

Less than twelve hours after the failed launch of Antares, the Russian Progress 57 resupply craft will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan at 6:45 a.m., with docking to the Pirs Docking Compartment just over six hours later.

More to follow shortly..

NASA Postpones Cygnus Launch Ahead of Trio of Spacewalks to Repair Faulty Pump Module

NASA has postponed the launch of the Orbital Sciences' Cygnus cargo resupply vehicle to the International Space Station, after the space agency announced that a trio of EVAs will take place outside the station during the Christmas holidays in order to repair a faulty ammonia pump which regulates space station cooling.

Rick Mastracchio tweeted a picture of his EMU

Cygnus, which is making its second visit to the station, was scheduled to launch from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on December 19. Atop an Antares rocket, it will now attempt launch on January 9, with launch occurring no later than January 13 2014.

This postponement will allow Expedition 38 flight engineers Mike Hopkins and Rick Mastrachio to conduct a trio of EVAs outside the orbiting complex in an effort to repair the faulty pump module. These three spacewalks will take place on December 21, 23 and 25. Each EVA will commence at 12:10 p.m. Irish Time.

 They will replace it with an existing spare that is stored on an external stowage platform. The pump is associated with one of the station's two external cooling loops, which circulate ammonia outside the station to keep both internal and external equipment cool.

This is the same pump which was repaired by Expedition 24 flight engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson, after completing three spacewalks in 2010.

More to follow..

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NASA's LADEE Launches on its Way to the Moon

NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer(LADEE) has launched from the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, marking the start of its thirty day voyage to the Moon.

LADEE, which stands for the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, launched atop a U.S. Air Force Minotaur 5 rocket from the Wallops Flight Facility at 4:27 a.m. Irish Time.

After technical checkouts were conducted by teams of flight controllers in NASA Ames Research Center, there seemed to be a problem with the orbiter's reaction wheels, instruments used to position and stablilise LADEE. However, this problem has not affected the orbiter's flight to the Moon, which is explained further by Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden:

"The LADEE spacecraft is working as it was designed to under these conditions – there's no indication of anything wrong with the reaction wheels or spacecraft... The mission team has ample time to resolve this issue before the spacecraft reaches lunar orbit. We don't have to do anything in a rush."


 The lunar orbiter will take 30 days to make the quarter of a million mile journey to our nearest neighbour, complete a further 30 days of system checks, before beginning the prime scientific mission, which is expected to last 100 days.

What Will LADEE study?

Even though we know the Moon is not mad of cheese, there are still mysteries to unravel!

The answer lies in the name of the mission. Using onboard scientific instruments, LADEE will attempt to discover more information about the Moon's extremely thin atmosphere, which is only around 2 cm thick. It will also find out more about conditions near the surface and environmental influences on lunar dust.


This investigation of the Moon can also be used to predict what atmospheric conditions there may be on other dry, rocky worlds like planets like Mercury, as well as other satellites in our Solar System.

Following the mission science phase, LADEE will be decommissioned, and will continue to orbit the Moon at lower and lower altitudes, before impacting the lunar service

You can keep up to date on the LADEE mission by visiting NASA's LADEE Mission page, or by following LADEE on Twitter.

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