This is the 15th planned flight of the Orbital ATK's uncrewed resupply spacecraft Cygnus and its 14th flight to the International Space Station under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. This Cygnus spacecraft carries the name of NASA astronaut Kalpana Chawla, who was the first female astronaut of Indian descent.
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 fourteenth flight to the ISS by the Cygnus spacecraft under the CRS program and their third under the CRS2 program. This is also the 10th 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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