For the second day in a row, poor weather has stalled a critical space station delivery for NASA. Clouds and rain prevented the first launch attempt December 3. The launch time is 5:10 p.m. EST at the opening of a 30-minute window. Forecasts, however, call for only a 30 percent chance of acceptable weather at launch time. Orbital ATK bought another company’s rocket, the Atlas, for this supply mission.
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NASA will televise the moment three astronauts return to Earth from the International Space Station. The launch was supposed to happen yesterday, but had to be postponed to today due to adverse weather conditions.
The science cargo includes a new life science facility that will support studies on cell cultures, bacteria, and other micro-organisms; a microsatellite deployer and the first microsatellite to be deployed from the space station; experiments that will study the behavior of gases and liquids and clarify the thermo-physical properties of molten steel; and evaluations of flame-resistant textiles.
The six space station astronauts are the ultimate customers, said Frank Culbertson of shipper Orbital ATK Inc., “so we want to take them what they need”.
Check out the @OrbitalATK mission profile for the #Cygnus launch and @Space_Station arrival.
The delayed mission will be Orbital ATK’s fourth to the ISS under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with the company. It would be the first time Orbital ATK had launched one of its resupply missions from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX, meanwhile, aims to restart station deliveries in January with its Falcon rockets. A second Atlas will make a supply run for Orbital in March, before the Antares is back in business.
Mission Description:Cygnus is a low-risk design incorporating elements drawn from Orbital ATK and its partners’ existing, flight-proven spacecraft technologies.
Much-needed food is inside the cargo carrier, named Cygnus after the swan constellation.
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Orbital’s rocket men acknowledge being a little nervous about the upcoming launch, even though the Atlas has been around for decades and is a tried and true workhorse.
