OREANDA-NEWS. April 25, 2013. The first test flight of the Antares rocket carrier of medium class was made from cosmodrome on Wallops island, Virginia, the USA.

In the frames of demonstration launch the Antares rocket carrier led a simulator payload into the target orbit 250-300 kilometers high. Together with it there were transported to the orbit three small NASA satellites and one commercial nanosatellite. 

The Antares rocket carrier was developed by Orbital Science Corporation (USA) in the framework of international cooperation with participation of Ukraine. It contains of two stages and the Cygnus resupply spacecraft (the third stage). The main construction of the first stage of the Antares rocket carrier was developed by the Pivdenne Constructor Bureau named after Yangel and produced by the Production Association “The Pivdennyi machine-building plant named after Makarov” state enterprise in cooperation with Ukrainian enterprises Khartron-Arkos (Kharkiv), Kyivprylad (Kyiv), Khartron-Yukom (Zaporizhzhya), Chezara, Rapid (Chernihiv), and also with Russian enterprises.

Cooperation of the participants of the Antares program is unique as in the framework of this program the Ukrainian side implements for the first time the whole complex of works in designing, development and production of the material part of main construction of the I stage for the rocket carrier ordered by the National Space Agency of the USA.

The successful launch of the Antares rocket carrier is a vivid example of fruitful cooperation of Ukraine and USA in space area.