Orbital Sciences
Orbital ATK Org Charts Detail the Newly Merged Company
Orbital Sciences Corp. and ATK completed their merger Feb. 9, forming a $4.5 billion aerospace and defense company employing 12,500 people across 17 states.
ATK and Orbital Shareholders Approve Merger
Shareholders of ATK and Orbital Sciences Corp. approved the merger of the two companies in separate votes Jan. 27, clearing the way for the merger to close in early February.
Orbital Sciences: Russian Press Overstate RD-181 Contract Value
Orbital Sciences Corp. expects to take delivery of the first pair of its newly purchased Russian rocket engines in June or July, with a second pair arriving before the end of the year, under a contract whose value Orbital said has been overstated in the Russian press.
NASA Taps SpaceX To Launch TESS Satellite
Although SpaceX has made four cargo deliveries to the international space station under contract to NASA and is poised to make its fifth next month, the TESS contract marks only the second time NASA has tapped SpaceX to launch a science satellite.
Orbital Sciences Orders RD-181 Engines for Antares Rocket
Orbital has contracted with Russia’s Energomash to provide RD-181 engines to power the first stage of Orbital’s Antares rocket, replacing the AJ-26 engine that Orbital suspects was the origin of Antares’ Oct. 28 failure.
Boeing Offers CST-100 for ISS Cargo Contract
As Boeing begins work on its NASA commercial crew contract, the company is proposing to use a version of the same spacecraft to transport cargo to the international space station.
After Failure, Orbital Orders Atlas 5 To Bridge Gap Between Old and New Antares
Orbital Sciences will buy at least one Atlas 5 rocket from United Launch Alliance to resume cargo deliveries to the international space station for NASA in the fourth quarter of 2015 while it works to return its Antares rocket to flight after an October failure.
SSL Takes Hispasat Contract Away from Orbital Sciences
Hispasat selects Space Systems/Loral to build the Amazonas 5 in a move that cancels the planned Amazonas 4B satellite that Orbital was expected to build.
Justice Department Approves ATK-Orbital Merger
The U.S. Department of Justice has cleared the planned merger of ATK and Orbital Sciences Corp.
Orbital Sciences Entitled To Partial NASA Payment for Antares Failure
Orbital will get most of its planned revenue from NASA for its Oct. 28 launch despite the rocket’s failure because the milestone that triggered payment was the rocket’s ignition and liftoff.
Companies Have Technologies, but Not Business Plans, for Orbital Debris Cleanup
Companies attending a recent workshop offered a number of technical concepts for reducing the amount of orbital debris, but acknowledged that they lack business plans for carrying out those efforts.
NASA Contract Puts Orbital’s Pegasus XL Back on the Board
Orbital Sciences will launch a small NASA heliophysics mission aboard the venerable Pegasus XL air-launched rocket in 2017 under a $56.3 million contract award.
ATK Exec Hints at Antares Engine Selection in Endorsing Orbital’s Failure Recovery Plan
ATK Chief Executive Mark W. DeYoung said there are no near-term liquid-propulsion alternatives to Russian engines for U.S. rockets.
ATK, Orbital Sciences Postpone Merger Vote to Late January
ATK on Nov. 17 said its special due-diligence assessment of Orbital Sciences following the Oct. 28 failure of Orbital’s Antares rocket has concluded that the merger of ATK’s Aerospace and Defense group with Orbital remained a good idea.
Commentary | Orbital’s Three Poker Games
Orbital Sciences Chief Executive David W. Thompson is not a guy I would ever want to play poker with.
Orbital Outfitters Breaks Ground on Texas Facility
The facility is being built by Orbital Outfitters, a company developing pressure suits for commercial spaceflight companies.
Subcontractor Sued by Orbital Sciences Offers To Turn Over Hardware
A contractor Orbital Sciences Corp. sued for delaying upgrades to the Virginia spaceport Orbital uses for space station cargo launches will turn over hardware needed for the improvements now that a resolution appears to have been reached.
Orbital To Accelerate Upgraded Antares, Use Other Vehicles for Cygnus
Under the “go-forward” plan the company announced, Orbital will perform one or two launches of Cygnus cargo vehicles using a launch vehicle yet to be announced.
Editorial | Odds Catch up with NASA, Orbital
The Antares failure is a reminder of the unforgiving nature of the launch.
Orbital Asked Judge on Day of Antares Accident To Force Turnover of Launch Hardware
The motion for a preliminary injunction Orbital filed Oct. 28 is the latest turn in a lawsuit centered around the Transporter Erector Launcher.
