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U.S. cargo ship launch to International Space Station moves to Sunday

United Launch Alliance program manager for NASA missions Vern Thrope told Space, “The winds were just a couple of knots too high”.

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This time, Orbital ATK is relying on an Atlas V rocket made by United Launch Alliance to propel the cargo ship to low-Earth orbit.

The launch is rescheduled for Saturday, Dec. 5 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

Viewing the Launch by Webcast: The live webcast will begin at 4:30 p.m. EST. Lousy weather already has resulted in a pair of back-to-back launch delays.

You can watch the launch attempt live at Space.combeginning at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130 GMT), courtesy of NASA TV.

Following two scrubs and a three day due to intense and wide spread rain squalls and excessive blustery winds, the third time is hopefully the charm for the Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply ship set for blastoff atop the venerable ULA Atlas V booster. Forecasters say there’s only a 20 percent chance the weather will cooperate.

An illustration of Orbital ATK’s enhanced Cygnus spacecraft on approach to the International Space Station. The company expects the new rocket to be ready for space flight by the middle of next year. The space agency’s commercial partner, Orbital ATK, has a $1,9 billion agreement with NASA to conduct 10 such cargo runs to the orbiting laboratory.

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NASA has also contracted with Orbital ATK to fly three additional missions through 2018. SpaceX has flown six successful cargo flights so far, with a seventh mission failing in June.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket stands ready for a second launch attempt at launch complex 41at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station