Orbital Sciences renames Taurus II rocket "Antares"
Posted: Tue, Dec 13, 2011, 7:24 AM ET (1224 GMT)
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced Monday that it is renaming the Taurus II rocket it is developing to launch cargo missions to the ISS to "Antares". Company officials explained that a rocket the "scale and significance" of the Taurus II, the largest rocket developed by the company, deserved its own name. The name change also avoids any confusion with the different, smaller Taurus XL rocket, which suffered failures in its last two launch attempts. Antares will initially be used to launch Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS under a contract with NASA, although the company seeks to use the rocket for other medium-class payloads as well. The first Antares launch, a demonstration mission, is planned for early 2012.
Orbital Sciences Corporation announced Monday that it is renaming the Taurus II rocket it is developing to launch cargo missions to the ISS to "Antares". Company officials explained that a rocket the "scale and significance" of the Taurus II, the largest rocket developed by the company, deserved its own name. The name change also avoids any confusion with the different, smaller Taurus XL rocket, which suffered failures in its last two launch attempts. Antares will initially be used to launch Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS under a contract with NASA, although the company seeks to use the rocket for other medium-class payloads as well. The first Antares launch, a demonstration mission, is planned for early 2012.
Related Links:
| <<previous article | next article>> |
|
news in brief
|
|
|
|
news links
|
|
Friday, September 12
Lebanon licenses Elon Musk's Starlink for satellite internet services
AP — 7:30 am ET (1130 GMT) Rocket Lab CEO on the new space race: ‘It’s getting exciting’
Fast Company — 7:28 am ET (1128 GMT) Iridium Communications stock rating downgraded by Raymond James on SpaceX deal
Investing.com — 7:26 am ET (1126 GMT) AST SpaceMobile Jabs SpaceX for Overloading Earth's Orbit With Satellites
PC Magazine — 7:26 am ET (1126 GMT) Protestors in Mexico oppose impact of bigger SpaceX launches
Texas Standard — 7:26 am ET (1126 GMT) |
