NASA commercial provider Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its sixth mission to the International Space Station Sunday, October 16 under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Live launch coverage will begin at 7:00 p.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.
The company’s Cygnus spacecraft is set to lift off on its Antares rocket at 8:03 p.m., the start of a 5-minute launch window, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad OA at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Coverage will resume for solar array deployment at 9:30 p.m., and a post-launch briefing will be held at approximately 10:30 pm.
NASA TV also will air two prelaunch briefings Saturday, Oct. 15. At 4:00 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, followed by a briefing by mission managers at 6:00 p.m. The briefings will stream live on the agency’s website.
Cygnus will carry almost 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory to support dozens of science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 49 and 50.
The new experiments will include an investigation that looks at fuels that burn very hot at first, and then appear to go out, but actually continue to burn at a much lower temperature with no visible flames. A second planned large-scale fire inside Cygnus will be ignited after it leaves the space station to help researchers understand how fire grows in microgravity and design safeguards for future space missions. Cygnus also is carrying a new station research facility that will enable a new class of research experiments by allowing precise control of motion in the microgravity environment aboard the station.
The spacecraft will arrive at the station on Wednesday, October 19, when Expedition 49 Flight Engineers Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Kate Rubins of NASA will grapple Cygnus, using the space station’s robotic arm, at approximately 7:20 a.m. EDT NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and grapple will begin at 6:15 a.m.
After Cygnus’ capture, ground commands will be sent from mission control in Houston to the station’s arm to rotate and install the spacecraft on the bottom of the station’s Unity module.
Cygnus will remain at the space station until November, when the spacecraft will be used to dispose of several tons of trash during its fiery reentry into Earth’s atmosphere.
Media at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings on Oct. 15 and 16, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact Keith Koehler at keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov or 757-824-1579.
If the launch does not occur on Sunday, Oct. 16, the next launch opportunity is 7:40 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17 with NASA TV coverage starting at 6:45 p.m.
Dubbed the S.S. Alan Poindexter, this Cygnus spacecraft is a tribute to a space shuttle veteran who flew on two missions to the International Space Station, one as a shuttle commander. Poindexter died in an accident in July 2012.
PRESS ACCREDITATION OFFICE HOURS OF OPERATION
Media badges will be issued at the Press Accreditation table in the Media Center at the Wallops NASA Visitor Center.
Saturday, Oct. 15: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m. (U.S. citizens only)
Sunday, Oct. 16: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (U.S. and non-U.S. citizens)
PRESS SITE HOURS OF OPERATION
The NASA Press Site at Wallops will be open as follows:
Saturday, Oct. 15: 2:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 16: 8:30 a.m. – midnight
Monday, Oct. 17: 12:01 – 12:30 a.m.
NASA TV BRIEFINGS
To participate in the briefings by phone, media must contact kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov by 3 p.m. Saturday, for dial-in information.
HAT’S ON BOARD SCIENCE BRIEFING ON NASA TV
Saturday, Oct. 15 (L-1 day): A science, research and technology briefing will be held at the NASA Visitor Center auditorium at 4:00 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.
Participants will include:
· Pete Hasbrook, associate program scientist, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
· Jitendra Joshi, technology integration lead for the Advanced Exploration Systems Division at NASA Headquarters
· Jesse Robbins, system engineer, Cool Flames Investigation, NASA’s Glenn Research Center
· Liz Warren, associate program scientist, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)
· Henry Martin, external payloads coordinator, NanoRacks
· Ed Harris, partner, Edge of Space
PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV
Saturday, Oct. 15, (L-1 day): A prelaunch status briefing will be held at Wallops NASA Visitor Center auditorium at 6:00 p.m. NASA TV will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.
Participants will be:
· Joel Montalbano, deputy manager International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
· Frank Culbertson, Space Systems Group president, Orbital ATK
· Mike Pinkston, Antares program vice president and general manager, Orbital ATK
· Sarah Daugherty, test director, Wallops Flight Facility
· Dale Nash, executive director, Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority
POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV
Sunday, Oct. 16: A post-launch news conference will occur at about 10:30 p.m. and NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.
Participants will be:
· Joel Montalbano, deputy manager International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
· Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group
· Mike Pinkston, Vice President and General Manager Orbital ATK’s Antares program
NEWS MEDIA TOURS
News and social media participants will receive tours of various facilities.
Remote Camera Set Up – Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport pad OA
Sunday, Oct. 16, (Launch day): News media will be able to establish sound-activated remote cameras to capture the liftoff from the pad. The bus departs the Northrop Grumman parking lot at 6:30 a.m. After all cameras are deployed, media will return to the Northrop Grumman lot at 8:15 a.m. with an expected arrival time of 8:30 a.m.
Vehicle and Horizontal Integration Facility
Sunday, Oct. 16 (Launch day): News media will depart the NASA Visitor Center by bus at 9:00 a.m. for viewing the Antares on the launch pad and the OA-7 being integrated in the Horizontal Integration Facility. Media will return to the NASA Visitor Center with an expected arrival time of 10:30 a.m.
Launch Viewing
Sunday, Oct. 16 (Launch day): News media and social media will depart the Northrop Grumman parking lot at 6:00 p.m. by bus to travel to the launch viewing area, approximately two miles from the launch site.
NASA SOCIAL
Up to 50 social media representatives were invited to cover launch. The NASA Visitor Center will serve as their home base, and they will view launch from the viewing site on the NASA Wallops Mainland, approximately two miles from the launch pad. Social media will attend some of the same activities as the traditional news media and will receive tours of various facilities.
NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE
Sunday, Oct. 16 (Launch day): NASA TV live coverage will begin at 7:00 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:
IN-FLIGHT NASA TV COVERAGE
If launch occurs Oct. 16, NASA TV will provide live coverage of the arrival of the Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station. NASA TV will cover the rendezvous and grapple of Cygnus on Oct. 19 beginning at 6:15 a.m. with grapple taking place at approximately 7:20 a.m.
NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE
Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the Orbital ATK CRS-5 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming beginning at 2:00 p.m. on the Wallops Ustream site. Live coverage on the NASA website begins at 7:00 p.m. on launch day. Photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Keith Koehler at 757-824-1579. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:
Learn more about the Orbital ATK CRS-5 mission by going to the mission home page at:
http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk
The Wallops Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:
http://www.twitter.com/NASA_Wallops
The Wallops Facebook feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:
http://www.facebook.com/NASAWFF
RECORDED STATUS
Recorded status reports on the launch of Orbital ATK CRS-5 and associated prelaunch activities will be provided on the Wallops media phone line starting Friday, Oct. 14. The telephone number is 757-824-2050.
WIRELESS CAPABILITY
Wireless capability for the news media is available at the Wallops NASA Visitor Center and at the launch viewing site.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews
For more information about the International Space Station, visit:
