Orbital's Cargo Delivery Demo Slips to Late Summer

摘要

The debut of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares Cygnus spacecraft will slip at least to August and possibly to September as the Dulles, Va., company replaces an engine on the freighter's Antares carrier rocket. In a May 6 press release, Orbital said its engineers need "to further inspect and confirm the flightworthi-ness" of this engine. The company did not say what had prompted it to remove the engine in the first place, and Orbital spokesman Barron Beneski could not immediately be reached for comment. Each Antares core stage uses two liquid-fueled engines: Soviet-vintage NK-33s refurbished and modified by Aerojet of Sacramento, Calif., and remarketed as AJ-26s. Swapping out the engine will take three to four weeks, Orbital estimates.