The launch of an Antares 110 rocket
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|
Function | Medium expendable launch system |
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Manufacturer |
Orbital ATK (main) Yuzhnoye Design Bureau (sub) |
Country of origin | United States |
Project cost | $472 million until 2012 |
Size | |
Height |
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Diameter | 3.9 m (13 ft) |
Mass |
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Stages | 2 to 3 |
Capacity | |
Payload to LEO | 6,120 kg (13,490 lb) |
Associated rockets | |
Comparable | Delta II |
Launch history | |
Status |
|
Launch sites | MARS LP-0A |
Total launches | 6 (110: 2, 120: 2, 130: 1, 230: 1) |
Successes | 5 (110: 2, 120: 2, 130: 0, 230: 1) |
Failures | 1 (130: 1) |
First flight |
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Last flight |
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Notable payloads | Cygnus |
First stage (Antares 100-series) | |
Empty mass | 18,700 kg (41,200 lb) |
Gross mass | 260,700 kg (574,700 lb) |
Engines | 2 × AJ26-62 |
Thrust | 3,265 kN (734,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse |
Sea level: 297 s Vacuum: 331 s |
Burn time | 235 seconds |
Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
First stage (Antares 200-series) | |
Empty mass | 20,600 kg (45,400 lb) |
Gross mass | 262,600 kg (578,900 lb) |
Engines | 2 × RD-181 |
Thrust | 3,844 kN (864,000 lbf) |
Specific impulse |
Sea level: 311.9 s Vacuum: 339.2 s |
Burn time | 215 seconds |
Fuel | RP-1/LOX |
Second stage – Castor 30A/B/XL | |
Gross mass |
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Propellant mass |
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Thrust |
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Burn time |
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Fuel | TP-H8299/aluminium |
Antares (/ænˈtɑːriːz/), known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than 5,000 kg (11,000 lb) into low-Earth orbit, Antares is the largest rocket operated by Orbital ATK. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013.
NASA awarded Orbital a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement (SAA) in 2008 to demonstrate delivery of cargo to the International Space Station. For these COTS missions Orbital intends to use Antares to launch its Cygnus spacecraft. In addition, Antares will compete for small-to-medium missions. Originally designated the Taurus II, Orbital Sciences renamed the vehicle Antares, after the star of the same name, on December 12, 2011.
The first four Antares launch attempts were successful. During the fifth launch on October 28, 2014, the rocket failed catastrophically, and the vehicle and payload were destroyed. The failure was traced to a fault in the first stage engines. After completion of a redesign program, the rocket had a successful return to flight on October 17, 2016, delivering cargo to the ISS.