Orbital ATK / NASA - OA-5 Cygnus patch.
October 17, 2016
On Oct. 17, 2016, Orbital ATK launched its Cygnus cargo spacecraft atop an Antares rocket to the International Space Station. The spacecraft launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. This is the sixth cargo mission to the International Space Station for Orbital ATK.
Image above: View of launch from helicopter. Photo Credit: (NASA Wallops/Patrick Black).
Cygnus Spacecraft Separation
The Cygnus spacecraft has separated from the Antares rocket second stage. At 7:55 p.m. EDT, Cygnus is safely in space.
Image above: Artist concept of Cygnus spacecraft separation. Image Credit: NASA TV.
An hour and a half after launch, commands will be given to deploy the spacecraft’s UltraFlex solar arrays.
Launch coverage will continue on NASA TV at http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv until shortly after spacecraft separation then resume at about 9:05 p.m. for solar array deployment, which is expected to last about 30 minutes.
Orbital ATK Launches to ISS from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility
Cygnus is scheduled for arrival at the International Space Station on Oct. 23, with about 5,100 pounds of supplies and payloads, including critical materials to directly support dozens of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 49 and 50.
Orbital ATK NASA blog updates: https://blogs.nasa.gov/orbital/
Orbital ATK website: https://www.orbitalatk.com/
Images (mentioned), Video, Text, Credits: NASA/Rob Garner.
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