Forbes magazine provided more information on these Russian rockets:
The rocket’s two engines were modified Soviet-era hardware initially acquired from Russia in the late 1990s by the now defunct Kirkland, Wa.-based Kistler Aerospace Corporation. At the time, prior to its merger with Rocketdyne, the Sacramento, Ca.-based Aerojet Corporation had been subcontracted by Kistler to modernize the engines. However, Aerojet subsequently gained title to the engines as part of Kistler’s bankruptcy settlement. “They were originally developed by the Soviet Union for their N-1 manned lunar rocket which experienced several failures resulting in the Soviet cancellation of their manned lunar landing program,” said Bill Ketchum, a retired General Dynamics Corporation aerospace engineer, familiar with such systems.So Orbital Sciences used engines from the 1970s, which were associated with a failed Soviet lunar mission, as the foundation for their work with NASA? Was anyone watching the hen house? I prefer SpaceX's approach of building everything in-house. I would prefer NASA and the Air Force would do the same rather than also relying on Russian rockets.
On November 5th, Orbital Sciences restated it intentions to fulfill the International Space Station (ISS) commitment:
Under the new approach and in line with Orbital’s existing CRS contract, all remaining cargo will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS) by the end of 2016. There will be no cost increase to NASA and only minor adjustments will be needed to the cargo manifest in the near term...To maintain the CRS program’s critical ISS supply line, Orbital plans an early introduction of its previously selected Antares propulsion system upgrade in 2016. This will be preceded by one or two non-Antares launches of the company’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the ISS in 2015-2016, employing the spacecraft’s compatibility with various launch vehicles and its flexibility to accommodate heavier cargo loads as launcher capacity permits. In addition, the company expects repairs to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) launch complex at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility to be undertaken quickly, allowing launch operations to continue at Wallops Island with the upgraded Antares beginning in 2016.In other words, the program will continue, but the Cygnus cargo capsule will be carried on third-party rockets for now. Maybe SpaceX Falcons? This is not a very encouraging sign, but hopefully a short-term solution for one of the only two private sector suppliers for the ISS.