It’s the first of two Cygnus missions launching from Florida on the Atlas V while Orbital ATK readies its own Antares rocket for a return to flight from Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
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The uncrewed Cygnus freighter, which is built by aerospace company Orbital ATK, was scheduled to launch toward the International Space Station Thursday evening (Dec. 3) at 5:55 p.m. EST (2255 GMT) from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, but bad weather scuttled the liftoff attempt.
According to the latest weather forecast from the United States Air Force 45th Weather Squadron, there is a 60% percent chance overall of acceptable weather conditions at launch time. Right now, take off is scheduled for 5:55PM ET, which marks the beginning of a 30-minute launch window.
But NASA has said it is confident in the two companies and is eager to resume flying cargo missions to the space station, which has been resupplied by other countries.
“I’m guessing that Santa’s sleigh is somewhere inside the Cygnus, and they’re probably excited about their stockings coming up, too”, Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK’s space systems group, said at a news conference Wednesday.
Additionally, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket blew up shortly after leaving the ground in June this year. NASA’s other contracted supplier, SpaceX, also remains stuck on Earth.
Part of Cygnus’s cargo will include Kaber, a device that the space station’s Canadian robot Dextre will use to launch small satellites from the space station.
Vascular Echo: a University of Waterloo study which builds upon previous Canadian research that found some astronauts experience accelerated stiffening of their arteries while on board the ISS.
If all goes well, astronauts will use the station’s robotic arm to grab the cargo capsule on Sunday.
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.
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“Commercial space is going to happen”, Shireman said. It was the company’s first failure since making the first commercial space station shipment in 2012. Add in a lost Russian cargo ship in April, and the cupboards in orbit have suffered.
