Rain and cloudy skies delayed Orbital ATK’s planned resumption Thursday of cargo runs to the International Space Station, a year after the company’s Antares rocket exploded during launch.
Advertisement
NASA reset the launch time to 6:25 p.m. and scrubbed it just before 6:15 p.m.
And starting from 4:30 pm on Thursday, NASA will provide live coverage of the event on NASA TV, and its blog will be continually updated to let news consumers know what is going on.
Orbital’s Cygnus spacecraft is loaded up with more than 7,000 pounds of food, water, supplies and science experiments.
Orbital ATK is using another company’s rocket to launch this shipment, as it works to get its own rocket, the Antares, flying again.
“They, very fortunately, had a late 2015 slot, and that was the time frame that we wanted, we actually wanted something a little earlier, but we’re very happy with this December launch slot”, Tani said.
The Atlas 5, built by United Launch Alliance, is scheduled for liftoff from complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 5:55:45 p.m. EST (GMT-5), roughly the moment Earth’s rotation carries the pad into the plane of the space station’s orbit.
Mission Description:Cygnus is a low-risk design incorporating elements drawn from Orbital ATK and its partners’ existing, flight-proven spacecraft technologies.
The craft will be carrying more than 7,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies, and vehicle hardware when it arrives at the ISS on Sunday.
The upcoming launch to resupply the ISS will fulfill part of Orbital’s contract with NASA.
Ken has reported first hand from the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, NASA Wallops, NASA Michoud/Stennis/Langley and on over 40 launches including 8 shuttle launches.
Eight months after Orbital’s explosion, SpaceX, the other company NASA relies on to ferry cargo to the station, also saw its rocket explode.
The Cygnus capsule is named after Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton, a commercial space pioneer. United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, celebrated its 100th consecutive successful launch in October.
Advertisement
NASA astronauts aboard a International Space Station have planted zinnia seeds to learn about how flowering plants freshness in space.
