This is the 14th planned flight of the Orbital ATK's uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its 13th flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. Spacecraft carries the name of Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., honouring USA's first black astronaut.
Antares known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now part of Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems after Northrop Grumman acquired Orbital ATK) and the Yuzhnoye Design Bureau to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) into low-Earth orbit, Antares is the largest rocket operated by Orbital ATK. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013.
See DetailsThis is the thirteenth flight to the ISS by the Cygnus spacecraft under the CRS program and their second under the CRS2 program. This is also the 9th use of the enhanced size Cygnus.
Cygnus Enhanced DetailsNorthrup Grumman Space Systems designs, builds and delivers space, defence and aviation-related systems to customers around the world. They aquired Orbital ATK in 2018 along with its launchers and ongoing missions.
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