How does Northrop Grumman secure Antares during severe storms?

The Northrop Grumman's Antares 230 rocket with space shuttle S.S. John Young Cygnus at Wallops Launch Complex 0L on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Photo: Mark Usciak / SpaceFlight Insider

WALLOPS ISLAND, Virginia – A strong "Nor'easter" storm suspended off the Atlantic coast led mission leaders to postpone the flight for an additional day. What has Northrop Grumman put in place to deal with a turbulent climate like this?

SpaceFlight Insider spoke with Kurt Eberly, vice-president of Northrop Grumman, the company's Antares program manager, about the procedures to follow when a strong storm approaches and the rocket is already on the carpet. Photo credit: Mark Usciak / SpaceFlight Insider

With the change of launch schedule, the Antares 230 with the S.S. John Young The launch of the Cygnus Space Shuttle is scheduled for Saturday, November 17 at 16:01:01 EST (08:01 GMT). The launch site is the Virginia Space Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, located at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the east coast of Virginia.

The region has experienced weather turbulence over the last few days, raising fears that the launcher and its payload will be threatened. Mission planners have stated that Antares and Cygnus are both secure, safe and ready to be launched when Mother Nature allows it.

It turns out that the systems in place to allow the transport of the rocket and the spacecraft to the platform help in such situations.

"Before take-off, we will release these grip arms (which hold Antares in place). As we approach the launch, we then move the carrier, which is our umbilical mast. While we're connected, we're staying there, "said Kurt Eberly, vice-president of Northrop Grumman's Antares program. SpaceFlight Insider.

With all the experiences and other goods on board the S.S. John Young, keeping this payload dry and dry is another concern that Northrop Grumman seems to be ready to handle.

"We have three" dry bays "in the vehicle. In the payload cavity of the fairing, we have an internal tank bay between RP tanks (RP-1, rocket fuel) and LOX (liquid oxygen), then we have a rear bay at the bottom, where find the engines. In each of these bays, we have avionics and things we want to keep dry and temperature controlled. So we have a lot of air in there. We have a dual redundant air conditioning at the trim, heating or cold, in order to precisely control the humidity. There is a lot of air flowing over there to keep those dry berries dry. "

However, anything that facilitates Antares launch operations is not inside the rocket or visible from the platform, but some of these elements also contribute to the safety of the rocket.

"Under the platform, we have a series of chests, equipment boxes where we organize our ground support equipment, power supply, communication equipment, fiber conversion to be able to return to the control center. Everything is in these coffers. These boxes are also highly conditioned, they are tested against leaks because we deluge the pad (with water to reduce the acoustic vibrations of the launch) each time we launch. So these boxes are thoroughly tested and are very robust. "

In the end, the enormous force released by the two RD-181 engines at the base of the first stage of the rocket also helps to ensure safety in bad weather.

"As you can imagine, there is also a lot of concrete on the platform. It was actually designed to perform a phase test on the launch pad, which we have already done twice with the two versions of Antares that we piloted. So it's really "over-engineered" – it gives us a lot of robustness for weather events like the one we see, "said Eberly. "The winds are going to be pretty strong and it's going to rain a lot, but that should not be a problem."

Antares rocket of Northrop Grumman. Image Credit: David Collins / SpaceFlight Insider

Tagged: Antares Commercial Replenishment Services International Space Station Cygnus Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport NASA NG 10 Northrop Grumman S.S. John Young The Range Range Flight Base

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Jason Rhian

Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills doing internships with NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations. He has provided content to sites such as: Aviation Week & Space Technology, Space.com, The Mars Society and Universe Today.