Media Invited to NASA Commercial Partner New Rocket Rollout April 6

April 03, 2013

Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
jbuck@nasa.gov

Jeremy Eggers
Wallops Flight Facility, Va.
757-824-2958
jeremy.l.eggers@nasa.gov

Barron Beneski
Orbital Sciences Corp., Dulles, Va.
703-406-5528
Beneski.Barron@orbital.com


MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-055

MEDIA INVITED TO NASA COMMERCIAL PARTNER NEW ROCKET ROLLOUT APRIL 6

WALLOPS ISLAND, Va. -- News media are invited to cover the scheduled
Saturday, April 6, morning rollout of Orbital Sciences Corporation's
Antares launch vehicle to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's
Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va.

Orbital is testing the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo logistics
spacecraft under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services
(COTS) program. A demonstration flight of Antares and Cygnus to the
International Space Station is planned for later this year. Following
the successful completion of the COTS demonstration mission to the
space station, Orbital will conduct eight cargo resupply flights to
the orbiting laboratory through NASA's Commercial Resupply Services
contract.

The rollout, which is scheduled to begin at about 4:45 a.m. EDT, is in
preparation for the launch vehicle's test flight later this month.
Pad operations to raise the rocket to a vertical position will begin
at about 6 a.m. will take two to three hours to complete. The launch
window for Antares' test flight is between April 17 and 19.

Media representatives interested in covering the Antares rollout and
pad operations must contact Rebecca Powell at 757-824-1139 or
rebecca.h.powell@nasa.gov by 4 p.m., April 5. A media escort will
leave Wallops' main gate at 4:30 a.m. for vehicle rollout. Orbital
and NASA representatives will be available for comment. All times are
tentative, and reporters should contact Wallops for up-to-date
information.

NASA initiatives like COTS are helping develop a robust U.S.
commercial space transportation industry with the goal of achieving
safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the
space station and low-Earth orbit. In parallel, NASA's Commercial
Crew Program is working with commercial space partners developing
capabilities to launch U.S. astronauts from U.S. soil in the next few
years.

For more information about the upcoming test flight, visit:


http://www.nasa.gov/orbital


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