Thick clouds and rain prevented an unmanned Atlas V (five) rocket from lifting off Thursday evening from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with 7,400 pounds of space station supplies.
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NASA said it plans to try the launch again Friday, but the weather is forecasted to be cloudy and windy then, too. Shortly after that failure, Orbital purchased an Atlas 5 launch from ULA to fulfill its contractual requirements to NASA to deliver cargo to the ISS.
Virginia-based Orbital is modifying the Antares, replacing its AJ-26 first-stage engines with RD-181 engines, and the revamped version of the booster should be ready to fly sometime next year, company representatives have said. Add in a lost Russian cargo ship in April, and the cupboards in orbit have suffered. Orbital ATK says that until the Antares returns to service in 2016, future Cygnus missions will rely on the ULA Atlas V rocket.
That means another attempt will be made Friday, at 5:33 p.m., from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, to send the Orbital ATK capsule full of supplies into space aboard an Atlas V rocket. The last successful USA cargo mission to the station was the previous Dragon mission in April.
The Cygnus spacecraft set to launch is dubbed the S.S. Deke Slayton II, after the original Project Mercury astronaut and pioneer of the first privately funded rocket.
While the Antares rocket continues its recovery, the Cygnus cargo will be launched using a competitor’s rocket – United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V rocket, according to The New York Times.
The Cygnus spacecraft that was scheduled to liftoff Thursday has about 7,700 lbs cargo. SpaceX stumbled on its eighth trip. This one, given the history and the stakes, will be more so.
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The 4-inch cube houses a camera for Earth picture-taking, as well as a crucifix and religious medal blessed by Pope Francis.
