Taurus
Justice Department reaches deal with company implicated in Taurus launch failures
The Justice Department has reached a settlement with the company that provided faulty components that led to the failure of back-to-back Taurus launches for NASA.
Orbital Picks ‘Antares’ as New Name for Taurus 2
Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp. announced Dec. 12 that it has picked “Antares” as the new moniker for its Taurus 2 rocket, a medium-class booster slated to launch the firm’s unmanned Cygnus spacecraft on space station cargo flights for NASA. The rocket’s first test launch is scheduled for February. Orbital officials also hope the Antares rocket can serve other civilian and military customers as well.
Taurus 2 To Deploy Nanosatellites in Debut
WASHINGTON — The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus 2 rocket slated to make its maiden launch in early 2012 as part of a NASA-sponsored demonstration program will carry four nanosatellites into space under an agreement with Spaceflight Inc., a Seattle-based company that books rides for secondary payloads.
Orbital Revises Schedule for Taurus 2 and Cygnus Debuts
PARIS — Satellite and rocket builder Orbital Sciences said Oct. 20 the inaugural launch of its Taurus 2 rocket and the vehicle’s delivery of supplies to the international space station have been postponed again, by between two and three months, following delays in making the rocket’s launch base ready for operations.
With Launch Site Behind Schedule Taurus 2 Facing Two-month Delay
PARIS — The inaugural flight of Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Taurus 2 rocket will be delayed by about two months, to December, to allow time for the completion and certification of rocket propellant and pressurization facilities at the vehicle’s Wallops Island, Va., launch site, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson said July 21.
Test Stand Fire Threatens Taurus 2 Launch Schedule
WASHINGTON — An Aerojet AJ-26 main engine undergoing acceptance testing for the inaugural flight of Orbital Science Corp.’s Taurus 2 rocket was badly damaged June 9 when a metal fuel line ruptured, causing the engine and test stand to catch fire, according to an industry source with knowledge of the mishap.
Orbital Sciences Eyes West Coast Missions for Taurus 2 Launcher
WASHINGTON — Orbital Sciences Corp.’s business case for its Taurus 2 rocket, scheduled to debut this year, assumes two or three launches per year for the next decade, with liftoffs occurring from a future West Coast spaceport in addition to the company’s new launch pad at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, which is owned by the Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority, on Virginia’s eastern shore.
Taurus 2 Work Poised To Begin at New Wallops Assembly Facility
SEATTLE — Work on Orbital Science Corp.’s Taurus 2 medium-class launch vehicle is ready to get under way at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s Eastern Shore following the official opening of a new rocket assembly facility there.
Taurus XL Failure Investigation Could Delay TacSat-4 Launch
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Department this month shipped an experimental satellite communications payload and its spacecraft platform to the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, where they were mated in preparation for launch as early as May 5, a Navy official said March 14.
