Bad Weather Postpones Orbital Cargo Launch

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket and Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft will be configured to launch Friday at 5:33 p.m. EST. NASA reset the launch time to 6:25 p.m. and scrubbed it just before 6:15 p.m. The weather issue today was thick cloud layers and disturbed weather patterns.

The cargo ship is packed with more supplies than a Cygnus has ever carried, amounting to some 7,300 pounds (3,300 kilograms), company officials said. It was the 4 commercial resupply service launch and the very first by Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft filled with cargo for the International Space Station (ISS). Slayton is carrying over 3 tons of equipment and supplies for the astronauts on ISS.

Virginia-based Orbital purchased two United Launch Alliance rockets to fulfill its shipment obligations to NASA.

But poor weather at the seaside Florida launch site forced ULA to postpone the launch. There will be a 30-minute launch window at that time.

NASA said it plans to try the launch again Friday, but the weather is forecasted to be cloudy and windy then, too. Launch of the Atlas V is scheduled for Thursday evening.

Assuming the weather cooperates and the launch goes off as planned, the cargo craft is scheduled to arrive at the International Space Station on Sunday, December 6. The cargo is especially important for the kinds of research investigations – big and small alike – scientists here on the ground are trying to pursue.

The Orbital Sciences vehicle is also packing over 2,500 pounds of crew supplies, and a load of other hardware as well, like replacement parts for the ISS’ space suits.

Both NASA and Orbital have blamed the turbo pump in one of those aging engines for causing the company’s rocket to explode seconds after liftoff on October 28, 2014, although they have disagreed as they’ve tried to pinpoint the exact cause. Space station program manager Kirk Shireman told reporters that the astronauts first will test an old and possibly radiation-degraded spare already on board, before a replacement is put on a SpaceX Dragon capsule sometime next year. It has launched dozens of satellites, but has never flown to the space station.