# Orbital Sciences
*companies*

## Specifications
- **merge suggestions**: [{"slug":"orbital-sidekick","name":"Orbital Sidekick","score":0.625,"matchedOn":"slug","matchedValue":"orbital-sidekick"},{"slug":"orbital-eye","name":"Orbital Eye","score":0.625,"matchedOn":"slug","matchedValue":"orbital-eye"},{"slug":"loft-orbital","name":"Loft Orbital","score":0.4545454545454546,"matchedOn":"alias","matchedValue":"Loft Orbital Solutions"}]
- **entity type**: company
- **last verified date**: 2026-06-26
- **verified by**: operator
- **claim status**: unclaimed
- **attributes**: {"merge_suggestions":"[{\"slug\":\"orbital-sidekick\",\"name\":\"Orbital Sidekick\",\"score\":0.625,\"matchedOn\":\"slug\",\"matchedValue\":\"orbital-sidekick\"},{\"slug\":\"orbital-eye\",\"name\":\"Orbital Eye\",\"score\":0.625,\"matchedOn\":\"slug\",\"matchedValue\":\"orbital-eye\"},{\"slug\":\"loft-orbital\",\"name\":\"Loft Orbital\",\"score\":0.4545454545454546,\"matchedOn\":\"alias\",\"matchedValue\":\"Loft Orbital Solutions\"}]"}

## Editorial
Orbital Sciences Corporation was a Dulles, Virginia heritage satellite and launch-vehicle manufacturer founded in 1982.[^orbital-2014-10k] It is no longer active as an independent supplier: the company combined with aerospace and defense groups to form a successor company in 2015, and that successor was acquired in 2018.[^orbital-2014-10k][^northrop-orbital-atk-acquisition] In EO contexts, Orbital's relevant heritage is spacecraft manufacturing, including OrbView commercial imaging satellites, science and environmental spacecraft, and small-launch systems such as Pegasus and Minotaur.[^orbital-sciences-wikipedia-crosscheck][^orbital-2014-10k] The row is useful for legacy mission attribution, supplier lineage and historic launch-service context, while current procurement belongs with the active successor organisation rather than Orbital as an independent vendor.[^northrop-orbital-atk-acquisition]

## Sources
- [orbital-2014-10k] | Orbital Sciences Corporation 2013 Form 10-K | https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/820736/000119312514067165/d640251d10k.htm | tier=legal-text | accessed=2026-06-26
- [northrop-orbital-atk-acquisition] | Northrop Grumman completes Orbital ATK acquisition | https://investor.northropgrumman.com/news-releases/news-release-details/northrop-grumman-completes-orbital-atk-acquisition | tier=operator-press | accessed=2026-06-26
- [orbital-sciences-wikipedia-crosscheck] | Orbital Sciences Corporation cross-check | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbital_Sciences_Corporation | tier=community | accessed=2026-06-26

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Source: https://eo-atlas.org/companies/orbital-sciences
Maintainer: SpectraWorks B.V. (CC-BY 4.0)