Headquatered in in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Virginia, Orbital Sciences Corporation has built 569 launch vehicles with 82 more to be delivered by 2015. 174 satellites have been built by the company since 1982 with 24 more to be ...
Headquatered in in the Dulles area of Loudoun County, Virginia, Orbital Sciences Corporation has built 569 launch vehicles with 82 more to be delivered by 2015. 174 satellites have been built by the company since 1982 with 24 more to be delivered by 2015. Orbital has a 40% share of the interceptor market, 55% share of the small communications satellite market, and a 60% share of the small launch vehicles market.
On Sunday, April 21, 2013 Orbital Sciences successfully launched a test flight, putting the company on a path to becoming the second commercial entity to transport cargo to the international space station. The 131-foot Antares rocket made its maiden voyage from a recently completed launch complex on Wallops Island, off the Virginia coast known as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport. The blast-off capped a roughly $1 billion investment.
However, failing to be selected for NASA's Commercial Crew Development phase 2 solicitation award, Orbital announced in 2011 that they will wind down their efforts to develop a commercial crew vehicle. The firm does hope to expand the use of the commercial Antares booster to various commercial configurations
