Family-level launch record combining canonical variants, historical missions, public cadence forecasts, and available payload performance specs.
Historical missions are grouped by actual launch year. Forecast cadence uses family-level launch-rate rows.
| Year | Historical missions | Forecast launches |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 1 | 0 |
| 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2 | 0 |
| 2020 | 2 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 |
| 2023 | 1 | 0 |
| 2026 | 0 | 3 |
| 2027 | 0 | 3 |
| 2028 | 0 | 3 |
| 2029 | 0 | 3 |
| 2030 | 0 | 3 |
| 2031 | 0 | 3 |
| 2032 | 0 | 3 |
| 2033 | 0 | 3 |
| 2034 | 0 | 3 |
Payload capacity by variant and target orbit when structured capacity rows are available.
| Variant | Orbit | Capacity | Altitude | Inclination | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Antares 330 | LEO | 10,500 kg | Unknown | 51.6 deg | Northrop Grumman Antares Rocket |
Latest launched missions using variants in this family.
| Mission | Variant | Launch |
|---|---|---|
| S.S. Laurel Clark Mission | Antares 230+ | Aug 2, 2023 |
| S.S. Sally Ride Mission | Antares 230+ | Nov 7, 2022 |
| S.S. Piers Sellers Mission | Antares 230+ | Feb 19, 2022 |
| S.S. Ellison Onizuka Mission |
Canonical variants rolled up into this launch vehicle family.
| Variant | Stages | Missions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
Antares 110 | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Antares 120 | Not stated | 2 | Retired |
Antares 130 | Not stated | 1 | Retired |
Antares 230 | Not stated | 5 | Retired |
| 2035 | 0 | 3 |
| 2036 | 0 | 3 |
| 2037 | 0 | 3 |
| 2038 | 0 | 3 |
| 2039 | 0 | 3 |
| 2040 | 0 | 3 |
| 2041 | 0 | 3 |
1 launch location represented.
| Year | Location | Launches | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2027 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2028 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2029 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2030 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2031 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2032 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2033 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2034 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2035 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2036 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2037 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2038 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2039 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2040 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. |
| 2041 | Wallops Flight Facility / MARS | Pad 0A | 3 | 35% | Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence. Site-year coverage backfill copied... |
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Antares 230+ |
| Aug 10, 2021 |
| S.S. Katherine Johnson | Antares 230+ | Feb 20, 2021 |
| S.S. Kalpana Chawla Mission | Antares 230+ | Oct 3, 2020 |
| S.S. Robert Lawrence Mission | Antares 230+ | Feb 15, 2020 |
| S.S. Alan Bean | Antares 230+ | Nov 2, 2019 |
Upcoming mission rows with announced launch timing.
| Mission | Variant | Announced |
|---|---|---|
No forecasted missionsNo upcoming announced mission rows are linked to this vehicle family. | ||
Antares 230+ | Not stated | 8 | Retired |
Antares 330 | Not stated | 0 | Development |
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman describes Antares 330 for Cygnus cargo service; model as up to three annual launches for CRS-class cadence.
Northrop Grumman is working with Firefly Aerospace on the Antares 330, a new version of the vehicle that will replace the existing first stage with one developed by Firefly using new engines.
The Antares 230+ rocket placed a Cygnus spacecraft into orbit that is set to arrive at the International Space Station early on 2022-11-09.
Northrop Grumman achieved the Antares performance increase without changing hardware by refining vehicle performance models using data from six previous Antares 230+ launches.
After NG-19, Northrop Grumman plans to launch three Cygnus missions on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets until the Antares 330 is ready.
The Antares first stage is built in Ukraine and powered by RD-181 engines manufactured in Russia.
A Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft launched on 2022-11-07 on the next-to-last flight of the Antares 230+ rocket.
The Cygnus NG-18 mission was launched on an Antares rocket from Virginia.
Northrop Grumman launched an Antares 230+ rocket carrying the Cygnus spacecraft from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on 2022-11-07.
Northrop Grumman increased the payload performance of the Antares launching the Cygnus by about 70 kg, which increased the cargo capacity of Cygnus by 20 kg.
Firefly Aerospace announced a joint partnership with Northrop Grumman Corporation to provide an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket and to develop a new medium launch vehicle (MLV) for commercial, civil, and national security space launch markets.
Firefly Aerospace and Northrop Grumman Corporation entered a joint partnership to provide an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket and to develop a new medium launch vehicle for commercial, civil, and national security space launch markets.
Firefly and Northrop Grumman Corporation joined forces to provide an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket and to develop a new medium launch vehicle for commercial, civil, and national security space launch markets.
The upgraded Antares 330 will use seven Firefly Miranda engines.
Northrop Grumman selected Firefly to provide an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket.
The Antares 330 upgrade will support NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services to the space station.
Firefly Aerospace has partnered with Northrop Grumman Corporation to develop an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket and a new medium-lift launch vehicle to serve commercial, civil, and national security space launch markets.
Firefly Aerospace announced an agreement with Northrop Grumman to partner on the Antares 330, which will use a new first stage provided by Firefly to replace the existing Antares first stage built in Ukraine and using Russian engines.
Firefly Aerospace partnered with Northrop Grumman Corporation to develop an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket and a new medium-lift launch vehicle.
Northrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace will develop a fully domestic version of the Antares rocket called Antares 330 for Cygnus space station commercial resupply services.
The Antares 330 performance upgrade will enable Northrop Grumman to continue supporting its current contracts while planning for future mission capabilities.