Orbital ATK’s enhanced Cygnus spacecraft was scheduled to blast off atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 5:55 p.m. EST (2255 GMT) from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Advertisement
Jason Rhian spent several years honing his skills with internships at NASA, the National Space Society and other organizations.
Liftoff was rescheduled until 5:33 p.m. on Friday. The rocket is due to lift off early Thursday evening with 7,400 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station.
In order to keep the thousands of pounds of supplies, science and hardware from moving during launch and in flight, the cargo is packed in bags and strapped to the walls.
Orbital and ULA went contract to launch in about one year, a much faster schedule than for a typical satellite launch. Last year, Orbital’ Antares rocket exploded just seconds into its launch to the ISS.
You can watch this launch live on NASA TV or on the NASA UStream channel (I usually use the latter).
The last successful US supply run was in April.
Rocket/Payload: A United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 will launch Orbital ATK’s Cygnus™ spacecraft on the initial leg of its cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). A fire and explosion in the old Russian rocket engines doomed the October 2014 flight, the company’s fourth resupply mission.
Orbital ATK plans to resume operations of its Antares rocket in 2016. California-based SpaceX has its own deal, worth $1.6 billion, to fly at least 12 uncrewed missions to the space station using its Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket.
Advertisement
Saturday also is a possibility, but United Launch Alliance still does not have full clearance that the range – the area beneath the rocket’s early path – will be clear and available. One was designed, tested and built by students at St. Thomas More Cathedral School in Arlington, Virginia the first such effort by elementary-age children.
