NASA counting on 1st U.S. space station shipment in months
The launch was supposed to happen yesterday, but had to be postponed to today due to adverse weather conditions.
Should the spacecraft take flight on Friday, the ISS will receive about 7,300 pounds of supplies including; experiments, food, and other necessities for astronauts.
Orbital’s Antares rocket also exploded previous year during its launch, which was carrying 5,000 pounds of cargo. That’s because of launch accidents by NASA’s two commercial suppliers.
“Atlas V has put satellites in orbit reliably and we are thrilled to be partners both with ULA on the Atlas and with NASA for to fly Cygnus to deliver this important cargo to the space station”, said Dan Tani, a former astronaut who is now Orbital ATK’s senior director of Mission and Cargo Operations.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft onboard seen shortly after arriving at Space Launch Complex 41 on December 2, 2015, at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
An Orbital Cygnus spacecraft, perched atop an Atlas 5 rocket from United Launch Alliance – a Lockheed Martin Corp and Boeing Co joint venture – had been slated for liftoff at 5:55 p.m. EST (2255 GMT). Forecasts show a 60 percent chance of good weather, with a chance of clouds delaying the mission. The original S.S. Deke Slayton was the cargo craft lost in last year’s explosion.
The Atlas V rocket has proved consistently reliable since its maiden launch in 2002, suffering only one significant issue in 2007 when a valve leak in the upper stage caused it to shut down early.
Orbital ATK is using another company’s rocket to launch this shipment because its own rocket, the Antares, remains grounded.
Orbital is now installing the first set of RD-181 engines in an Antares first stage. Although the space station is limping along on smaller loads of supplies provided by Japanese and European craft, the Orbital mission is carrying some much-needed replacement parts.