Media Accreditation Open for ORS-3 Mission from Wallops in November

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Oct 30, 2013, 11:34 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media accreditation is open for the Nov. 19 launch of a U.S. Air Force Minotaur I rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport's Pad 0B at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Minotaur will launch the Air Force's Operationally Responsive Space Office's ORS-3 mission and 28 small cubesat satellites.

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The ORS-3 Mission, also known as an enabler mission, will demonstrate and validate launch and range improvements for NASA and the military. These include automated trajectory targeting, range safety planning and flight termination systems. The launch also will be part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) certification process for the Minotaur rocket. The FAA has licensing authority over American commercial rockets.

The Minotaur's primary payload is the Space Test Program Satellite-3 (STPSat-3), an Air Force technology demonstration mission. Thirteen of the cubesats aboard are being provided through NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative. Among the cubesats is NASA's Small Satellite Program PhoneSat 2 second generation smartphone mission. Also included is the first cubesat built by high school students.

Journalists with U.S. citizenship must apply for accreditation by Nov. 15. Non- U.S. citizens will not be accredited due to lack of time for processing of credentials before the scheduled launch. To request accreditation, media should contact Keith Koehler at [email protected] or 757-824-1579.

For more information on the ORS-3 mission, visit:

http://go.usa.gov/Wgbd

For information on NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative, managed by the Launch Services Program, visit:

http://go.usa.gov/WgbR

SOURCE NASA