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|family = |derivatives = |comparable = Delta II |status = 100-series: retired 200-series: development |sites = MARS LP-0A |launches = 5 (110: 2, 120: 2, 130: 1) |success = 4 (110: 2, 120: 2, 130: 0) |fail = 1 (130: 1) |partial = |other_outcome = |first = 110: April 21, 2013〔 120: January 9, 2014〔 130: October 28, 2014 |last = 110: September 18, 2013 120: July 13, 2014 130: October 28, 2014 |payloads = Cygnus |stagedata = }} Antares (), known during early development as Taurus II, is an expendable launch system developed by Orbital Sciences Corporation (now Orbital ATK) to launch the Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station as part of NASA's COTS and CRS programs. Able to launch payloads heavier than into low-Earth orbit, Antares is the largest rocket operated by Orbital ATK. Antares launches from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport and made its inaugural flight on April 21, 2013.〔 NASA awarded Orbital a Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Space Act Agreement (SAA) in 2008 to demonstrate delivery of cargo to the International Space Station. For these COTS missions Orbital intends to use Antares to launch its Cygnus spacecraft. In addition, Antares will compete for small-to-medium missions.〔 Originally designated the Taurus II, Orbital Sciences renamed the vehicle Antares, after the star of the same name,〔 on December 12, 2011. The first four Antares launch attempts were successful. During the fifth launch on October 28, 2014, the rocket failed catastrophically, and the vehicle and payload were destroyed. ==Development== The NASA COTS award was for US$171 million 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 8 flights was awarded in 2008. As of April 2012, development costs were estimated at $472 million.〔 On June 10, 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 as the second stage of the Antares rocket.〔 In March 2010 Orbital Sciences and Aerojet completed test firings of the NK-33 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Antares (rocket)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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