Cygnus CRS Orb-3

Cygnus CRS Orb-3

Explosion on the launch vehicle seconds after launch
Mission type	ISS resupply
Operator	Orbital Sciences
Mission duration	Planned: 1 month Final: 15 seconds
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	Cygnus 4
Spacecraft type	Standard Cygnus
Manufacturer	Orbital Sciences Thales Alenia Space
Payload mass	2,294 kg (5,057 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date	28 October 2014, 22:22:38 (2014-10-28UTC22:22:38) UTC
Rocket	Antares 130
Launch site	MARS LP-0A
Contractor	Orbital Sciences
End of mission
Disposal	Destroyed on launch
Destroyed	28 October 2014, 22:22:53 (2014-10-28UTC22:22:54) UTC
NASA Orb-3 mission patch Commercial Resupply Services ← Cygnus CRS Orb-2 Cygnus CRS OA-4 →

NASA Orb-3 mission patch

Cygnus CRS Orb-3, also known as Orbital Sciences CRS Flight 3 or Orbital 3, was an attempted flight of Cygnus, an automated cargo spacecraft developed by United States-based company Orbital Sciences, on 28 October 2014. This flight, which would have been its fourth to the International Space Station and the fifth of an Antares launch vehicle, resulted in the Antares rocket exploding seconds after liftoff.

This would have been the third of eight flights by Orbital Sciences under the Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA. This was the first attempted flight of the Antares 130, which uses a more powerful Castor 30XL second stage, and the last flight of the standard-sized Cygnus Pressurized Cargo Module.

In an Orbital Sciences tradition, this Cygnus spacecraft was named Deke Slayton after one of NASA's original Mercury Seven astronauts and Director of Flight Operations, who died in 1993.

The mission was scheduled to launch on 27 October 2014 at 22:45 UTC from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia, with rendezvous and berthing with the ISS early in the morning on 2 November. This was the first night-time launch for both the Antares launcher and Cygnus spacecraft. The launch was scrubbed due to safety concerns of a sailboat entering the exclusion zone less than ten minutes before launch. A 24-hour delay was put in place, with the next launch opportunity scheduled for 22:22:38 UTC on 28 October 2014.