NASA Media Accreditation Open for Test Flight of Orbital's Antares Rocket

March 15, 2013

Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov

Keith Koehler
Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
757-824-1579
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov

Barry Beneski
Orbital Sciences Corp., Va.
703-406-5528
beneski.barron@orbital.com

MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-046

NASA MEDIA ACCREDITATION OPEN FOR TEST FLIGHT OF ORBITAL'S ANTARES ROCKET

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- Media accreditation is open for a test flight
of Orbital Sciences Corporation's Antares rocket from the
Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight
Facility in Virginia. Launch is targeted to occur between April 16-18
at approximately 3 p.m. EDT, the day of launch.

Antares is undergoing testing that will enable the rocket to
eventually carry experiments and supplies to the International Space
Station aboard a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. This test flight will not
launch a Cygnus spacecraft or rendezvous with the space station. A
demonstration flight of Cygnus to the orbiting laboratory is planned
for later this year.

International news media representatives without U.S. citizenship must
apply for credentials to cover the prelaunch and launch activities by
March 29. Early accreditation is necessary to process international
media credentials. For media representatives who are U.S. citizens,
the deadline to apply is April 10.

Media should email their accreditation requests to Keith Koehler at
keith.a.koehler@nasa.gov. For questions about accreditation or
additional information, contact Koehler by email or call him at
757-824-1579.

NASA also is inviting 25 social media users to apply for credentials
for the Antares launch. Social media users selected to attend will be
given the same access as journalists. All social media accreditation
applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Registration
for social media accreditation is open online. Because of the
security processing deadline, registration is limited to U.S.
citizens. For U.S. social media, the application deadline is 5 p.m.
March 29. For more information about NASA social media accreditation
requirements and to register, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/social

Orbital Sciences Corp. is building and testing its Antares rocket and
Cygnus spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services (COTS) program. After successful completion of a COTS
demonstration mission to the station, Orbital will begin conducting
eight planned cargo resupply flights to the outpost through NASA's
$1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company.

NASA initiatives, such as COTS, are helping to develop a robust U.S.
commercial space transportation industry. NASA's Commercial Crew
Program also is working with commercial space partners to develop
capabilities to launch U.S. astronauts from American soil during the
next several years.

For more information about the upcoming Orbital test flights and links
to NASA's COTS and Commercial Crew programs, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orbital

For information on Orbital's Antares launch vehicle, visit:

http://www.orbital.com


-end-



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