The Cygnus spacecraft for the upcoming Orbital ATK Commercial Resupply Services-6 mission is encapsulated inside its payload fairing as it moves past the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It is being moved to Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Credits: NASA/Dimitrios Gerondidakis

NASA commercial provider Orbital ATK is scheduled to launch its fifth mission to the International Space Station Tuesday, March 22, under the agency’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Live launch coverage will begin at 10 p.m. EDT on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

The company’s Cygnus spacecraft is set to lift off on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 11:05 p.m., the start of a 30-minute launch window, from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Coverage will resume for solar array deployment at 12:45 a.m. March 23, and a post-launch briefing will be held approximately two hours after launch.

NASA TV also will air two prelaunch briefings Monday, March 21. At 12:30 p.m., scientists and researchers will discuss some of the investigations to be delivered to the station, followed by a briefing by mission managers at 2:30 p.m. The briefings will stream live on the agency’s website.

Cygnus will carry almost 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory to support dozens of science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 47 and 48.

The new experiments will inspire future scientists and explorers, with experiments such as an investigation that looks at the properties and behavior of regolith, or "soil" found on asteroids, comets, the moon, and other airless worlds; an instrument for the first-ever, space-based observations of the chemical composition of meteors entering Earth’s atmosphere; a technology demonstration of an adhesive device that can stick on-command in the harsh environment of space; and the second generation of a portable onboard 3-D printer, among others.

The spacecraft will arrive at the station on Saturday, March 26, at which time Expedition 47 Commander Tim Kopra of NASA and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency) will grapple Cygnus, using the space station’s robotic arm, at approximately 6:40 a.m. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and grapple will begin at 5:30 a.m.

After Cygnus’ capture, ground commands will be sent from mission control in Houston to the station’s arm to rotate and install the spacecraft on the bottom of the station’s Unity module. Coverage of installation will begin at 9:15 a.m. 

Cygnus will remain at the space station until May, when the spacecraft will be used to dispose of several tons of trash during its fiery re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.

Under Orbital ATK’s Commercial Resupply Services contract, the company will fly 10 missions.

Media at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida will have the opportunity to participate in special tours and briefings on March 21 and 22, as well as view the launch. The deadline for media to apply for accreditation for this launch has passed. For more information about media accreditation, contact Jennifer Horner at 321-867-6598 or jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov.

If the launch does not occur on Tuesday, March 22, the next launch opportunity is 10:40 p.m. Wednesday, March 23, with NASA TV coverage starting at 9:45 p.m.

This will be the second flight to the station of an enhanced Cygnus spacecraft, which has an extended pressurized cargo module that increases the spacecraft’s interior volume capacity by 25 percent and enables more cargo to be delivered with each mission. Dubbed the S.S. Rick Husband, the spacecraft is a tribute to U.S. Air Force Col. Rick Husband, commander of space shuttle Columbia’s STS-107 mission, which was lost during re-entry on Feb. 1, 2003.
 

PRESS ACCREDITATION OFFICE HOURS OF OPERATION

Media badges will be issued at the Press Accreditation Office located on State Road 3, Merritt Island. Badging hours of operation are:

Monday, March 21: 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22: 8:30 p.m. – 10 p.m.
 

PRESS SITE HOURS OF OPERATION

The NASA Press Site at Kennedy will be open as follows:

Monday, March 21: 7:30 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Tuesday, March 22: 7 a.m. – March 23, 2:30 a.m.


WHAT’S ON BOARD SCIENCE BRIEFING ON NASA TV

Monday, March 21 (L-1 day): A science, research and technology briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 12:30 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants will be:

• Pete Hasbrook, associate program scientist, International Space Station Program, NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Houston
• Dr. Michael Roberts, deputy chief scientist, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)
• Gary Ruff, project manager and co-investigator, Spacecraft Fire Safety Demonstration Project (Saffire), NASA’s Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
• Aaron Parness, group leader, Extreme Environment Robots Group, Gecko Grippers, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena
• Andrew Rush, chief executive officer, Made in Space
• Dr. Kristen John, deputy project manager and co-investigator, Strata-1, NASA’s Johnson Space Center
   

PRELAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV

Monday, March 21 (L-1 day): A prelaunch status briefing will be held at Kennedy’s Press Site at 2:30 p.m. NASA TV will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.

Participants will be:

• Kenneth Todd, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program
• Frank Culbertson, Space Systems Group president, Orbital ATK
• Vern Thorp, program manager for NASA missions, United Launch Alliance
• Pete Hasbrook, associate program scientist, International Space Station Program
• Dr. Michael Roberts, deputy chief scientist, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS)
• Laura Godoy, launch weather officer, 45th Weather Squadron
   

POST-LAUNCH NEWS CONFERENCE ON NASA TV

Wednesday, March 23: A post-launch news conference will occur at about 1 a.m. and NASA Television will provide live coverage, as well as streaming Internet coverage.
Participants will be:

• Kenneth Todd, operations integration manager, International Space Station Program
• Frank Culbertson, Space Systems Group president, Orbital ATK
• Vern Thorp, program manager for NASA Missions, United Launch Alliance
   

NEWS MEDIA TOURS

News and social media participants will receive tours of various facilities and attend briefings about upcoming NASA and commercial partner activities.

Commercial Crew Program Update, Atlas Vehicle Roll to the Pad and Space Launch Complex 41 Photo Opportunity

Monday, March 21 (L-1 day): News media will depart the Press Site by bus at 8:30 a.m. Media will receive an update from NASA on the Commercial Crew Program outside of SpaceX’s Launch Complex 39A. At 9:15 media will depart for Universal Camera Site 3 (UCS-3) for the roll of the Atlas vehicle into position at Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41). At 10:35 a.m. media will depart UCS-3 for SLC-41 and the pad photo opportunity. At 11:35 a.m. media will return to the Press Site with an expected arrival time of 11:55 a.m.

Remote Camera Set Up - Space Launch Complex 41 or Universal Camera Site 3

Tuesday, March 22 (Launch day): News media will be able to establish sound-activated remote cameras to capture the liftoff from the pad at Space Launch Complex 41. Foreign national media will be able to establish remote cameras at the nearby Universal Camera Site 3. Busses depart the Press Site at 7:30 a.m. After all cameras are deployed, media will return to the Press Site at 9:35 a.m. with an expected arrival time of 9:55 a.m.

Crawler/Transporter and Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility Media Event

Tuesday, March 22 (Launch day): News media will depart the Press Site by bus at 10:40 a.m. for the Kennedy crawlerway and the Crawler/Transporter media event. At 11:50 a.m. media will depart for the Rotation, Processing and Surge facility media event. At 1:15 p.m. media will return to the Press Site with an expected arrival time of 1:25 p.m.

Launch Viewing

Tuesday, March 22 (Launch day): News media wanting to view the launch from the NASA Causeway will depart the Press Site by bus at 9:30 p.m.

A sign-up sheet will be available in the newsroom for media desiring to photograph the launch from the roof of the Vehicle Assemble Building (VAB). Space is limited for this activity so media must sign up in person. At 9:45 p.m. media selected will depart the Press Site for the VAB.
 

NASA SOCIAL

Up to 50 social media representatives were invited to cover launch. The Kennedy Press Site Annex will serve as their home base, and they will view launch from the NASA Causeway. Social media will attend some of the same activities as the traditional news media and will receive tours of various facilities and receive briefings about upcoming NASA and commercial partner activities.
 

NASA TV LAUNCH COVERAGE

Tuesday, March 22 (Launch day): NASA TV live coverage will begin at 10 p.m. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, -1260 or -7135. On launch day, "mission audio," the launch conductor’s countdown activities without NASA TV launch commentary, will be carried on 321-867-7135 starting at 8:15 p.m. Launch also will be available on local amateur VHF radio frequency 146.940 MHz heard within Brevard County on the Space Coast.
 

IN-FLIGHT NASA TV COVERAGE

If launch occurs March 22, NASA TV will provide live coverage of the arrival of the Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station. NASA TV will cover the rendezvous and grapple of Cygnus beginning at 5:30 a.m. with grapple taking place at approximately 6:40 a.m. Coverage of the installation of Cygnus will begin at 9:45 a.m.
 

NASA WEB PRELAUNCH AND LAUNCH COVERAGE

Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the Orbital ATK CRS-6 flight will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and text updates beginning at 10 p.m. as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video, podcast and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact Tracy Young at 321-867-2468. You can follow countdown coverage on our launch blog at:

http://blogs.nasa.gov/orbital

Learn more about the Orbital ATK CRS-6 mission by going to the mission home page at:

http://www.nasa.gov/orbitalatk
 

TWITTER

The Kennedy Twitter feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASAKennedy
 

FACEBOOK

The Kennedy Facebook feed will be updated throughout the launch countdown. To access the feed, visit:

http://www.facebook.com/NASAKennedy
 

RECORDED STATUS

Recorded status reports on the launch of Orbital ATK CRS-6 and associated prelaunch activities will be provided on the Kennedy media phone line starting Monday, March 21. The telephone number is 321-867-2525.
 

WIRELESS CAPABILITY

Wireless capability for the news media is available at the Kennedy Press Site.
 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

For video b-roll and other International Space Station media resources, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/stationnews

For more information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-9284
tracy.g.young@nasa.gov

Kathryn Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov

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