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). NASA will make its fourth launch attempt this afternoon. But even the Atlas is no match for Mother Nature.
Advertisement
Launch Updates: To keep up to speed with updates to the launch countdown, dial the ULA launch hotline at 1-877-852-4321 or join the conversation at www.facebook.com/ulalaunch,twitter.com/ulalaunch and instagram.com/ulalaunch; hashtags #Cygnus, #OA4 and #AtlasV.
“The cargo is safe, the vehicle is safe, and we’re ready to try again another day”, said Vern Thorp, United Launch Alliance’s program manager for NASA missions.
If successfully launched, the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s commercial cargo flights to the station will restart, ending its dependence on Russian and Japanese rockets. Sunday’s weather is forecast to offer a 40 percent chance of allowable conditions for a launch, the website reported.
Much-needed food is inside Orbital’s cargo carrier, named Cygnus after the swan constellation.
After bad weather foiled NASA’s second attempt to launch an Atlas V rocket and the Orbital ATK built Cygnus spacecraft, the space agency is prepared to make its third attempt, which is scheduled to take place later this evening. Its two suppliers are grounded because of launch accidents dating back to 2014, and the space station pantry needs restocking.
Advertisement
Also aboard the newest Cygnus capsule: clothes, toiletries, spacewalking gear, air-supply tanks and science experiments.
