Antares

Development The NASA COTS award was for and Orbital Sciences expected to invest an additional $150 million, split between $130 million for the booster and $20 million for the spacecraft. A Commercial Resupply Service contract of $1.9 billion for eight flights was awarded in 2008. As of April 2012, development costs were estimated at $472 million. In June 2008, it was announced that the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, formerly part of the Wallops Flight Facility, in Virginia, would be the primary launch site for the rocket. Launch pad 0A (LP-0A), previously used for the failed Conestoga rocket, would be modified to handle Antares. Wallops allows launches which reach the International Space Station's orbit as effectively as those from Cape Canaveral, Florida, while being less crowded. The first Antares flight launched a Cygnus mass simulator. On December 10, 2009, Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) test-fired their Castor 30 motor for use on the second stage of the Antares rocket. In March 2010, Orbital Sciences and Aerojet completed test firings of the AJ-26 engines. On February 22, 2013, a hot fire test was successfully performed, the entire first stage being erected on the pad and held down while the engines fired for 29 seconds. Design