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The Antares A-ONE marked the maiden flight of Dulles, Virginia-based firm’s rocket. The mission, which launched on April 21, 2013 sent aloft a boilerplate payload, the Cygnus Mass Simulator to test out the launch vehicle’s ability to ferry the Cygnus cargo freighter to orbit. The rocket launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Also onboard the launch vehicle was four Spaceflight Inc. CubeSat nanosatellites which were deployed from the from the boilerplate payload. That payload was successfully delivered to an orbit estimated at some 150 by 160 miles (240 kilometers by 260 kilometers) at an inclination of approximately 51.6 degrees. Funded under NASA’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program, the flight paved the way for the company to begin its flights to the International Space Station under the $1.9 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. Photos courtesy: Mark Usciak
