Wallops Island, Va.-based Orbital Sciences (News - Alert) Corporation successfully launched its Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) demonstration mission at 10:58 a.m. ET today, Sept. 18, 2013, from the Eastern Shore of Virginia. An Orbital Antares rocket carried the Cygnus spacecraft G. David Low into orbit on a 10-minute, glitch-free ride, to the delight of an international on-site viewing audience.   

The objective of the ORB-D1 COTS mission is to demonstrate that the Orbital Cygnus can safely and successfully rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station (ISS) for cargo supply missions. Onboard the Cygnus space freighter is around 1,300 pounds of cargo, including food, care packages for the astronauts, and equipment for experiments and station maintenance.

Two hours after launch, Orbital Executive Vice President Frank Culbertson said Cygnus was working “really, really well,” and that the company is preparing to conduct its first paying supply mission in December. NASA Associate Administrator Robert M. Lightfoot called the event “a good day for us,” with the agency on the verge of having two qualified commercial partners able to delivery cargo to the $100 billion station.  

Orbital named its first Cygnus “G. David Low” in honor of the NASA astronaut and Orbital employee. Low flew on three shuttle missions during his stint at NASA between 1984 and 1996, leaving the organization to join Orbital’s launch systems group in 1996. In 2006, Low was the senior vice president and program manager for the company’s COTS program.

Barring any glitches in Cygnus’ on-orbit test sequence over the next four days, grapple and berthing of the craft with ISS is expected early on Sunday morning, Sept. 22, followed by opening up the vehicle for cargo retrieval and trash loading. About 30 days after berthing, Cygnus will be detached and released for a disposal burn-up over the South Pacific.

Successful completion of the mission would officially close out NASA’s COTS R&D program to foster development of commercial supply services for the International Space Station, providing ongoing logistical support after the retirement of the space shuttle. In 2012, SpaceX (News - Alert) completed all of its COTS demonstration objectives and has flown two Cargo Resupply Service (CRS) missions to date.

It also opens the door for Orbital to start fulfilling its CRS obligations. Under an agreement with NASA announced in 2008, Orbital has a commitment to provide eight supply flights to the ISS. Orbital expects to conduct one CRS flight by the end of this year and two to three flights per year through 2016 from Wallops Island.

NASA is already working on a follow-on contract vehicle for ISS supply services through at least 2020. Most parties involved with the space station would like to see the facility continue to operate through 2028, but the international partners have not agreed on extending operations. As one of two qualified carriers, Orbital would have a leg up against new entrants.

Orbital may also have generated more interest in its Antares rocket. With two successful launches of Antares, NASA and other government agencies may be more comfortable using the vehicle to put medium-sized payloads into orbit.