The first official mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) using the Cygnus cargo c

The first official mission to supply the International Space Station (ISS) using the Cygnus cargo capsule of Orbital Sciences espresso Corporation, a mission called Orb CRS-1, is leaving the next December 19, 2013 from the launch pad 0A Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) espresso at Wallops Island, Virginia.
A board of Cygnus, the pressurized compartment designed to Orbital Sciences Corporation by Thales Alenia Space Italy, were loaded approximately 1,465 kg of material destined for the International Space Station, in what is the first of 8 missions to supply that makes Orbital ' internal program Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) of NASA.
The cargo capsule will be placed in orbit by means of carrier Antares, also developed by Orbital, whose launch is scheduled for 9:19 local time on December 19, 2013 (2:19 UTC, 20 December 3:19 Italian time) and with a window launch just 5 minutes.
If the placing in orbit of Cygnus will be successful, the approach of the cargo capsule to the ISS is scheduled for December 22, when achieved automatically by means of propulsion and control systems on-board the flight distance of only 12 meters, will be engaged by the men on board the International Space Station via the robotic arm Canadarm2 and attached to the Harmony node.
Cygnus is expected to remain docked to the International Space Station for 42 days during which the crew of Expedition 38, currently aboard the space outpost, will undertake to remove the materials from the supply of pressurized compartment and fill with waste material.
Once that is off, always using the robotic arm, Cygnus will move away from the ISS and independently, decreasing the orbital velocity by the ignition of the engines in braking function, will be captured by the gravitational pull of our planet, to conclude its mission with a destructive re-entry into the atmosphere Earth.
The first refueling mission that will be built by Orbital is made after the successful debut of Cygnus in the mission of testing COTS-1, launched on September 18, 2013, in which the whole system, Antares carrier and cargo capsule, have demonstrated the ability to make safe all the delicate phases of placing in orbit and approach to the International Space Station.
The launch date now set for December 19, has been moved forward by a few days for the last inspections by Orbital Sciences Corporation on the complex espresso system of the Antares rocket and Cygnus capsule, but also because of the abnormal circuit cooling the ISS, they're keeping busy the crew of the International Space Station and it is hoped that pose to be resolved by the time of arrival of the cargo capsule.
This concludes the mission to test the new Cygnus cargo capsule The debut of the Cygnus capsule sled in March or April 2013 Integration and testing of the modules of the service of the Cygnus Cygnus capsule will reach the ISS after the arrival of the Soyuz TMA-10M
Joseph Corleo Mechanical Engineer for studies, information technology in the banking profession, espresso passionate about everything related to astronomy, astronautics, mechanical engineering, physics and mathematics. Site Astronautinews.it columnist since 2011. Read all articles by Joseph
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