Cygnus cargo ship launch scrubbed due to bad weather

The launch will be the first for Orbital ATK’s Cygnus aircraft since its Antares rocket exploded seconds after liftoff from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on October 28 2014. In addition to food, clothing, crew supplies, spare parts and equipment, the Cygnus spacecraft is carrying science experiments to expand the research capability of the Expedition 45 and 46 crew members aboard the orbiting laboratory.

The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket launch from Cape Canaveral was scrubbed on Thursday due to inclement weather.

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.

More attention than usual is focused on the Orbital CRS-4 mission because of three recent failures involving resupply efforts.

NASA’s space station program manager, Kirk Shireman, said earlier this week that without another delivery, the six astronauts’ food would run out in April.

The explosion of the Antares rocket resulted in the loss of more than 2,000kg of supplies and scientific experiments including a demonstration satellite for surveying asteroids. A Russian supply run planned for later this month, if successful, would buy more time.

Over a year after Orbital ATK’s rocket blew up on the launchpad in Virginia, the company (formerly known as Orbital Science) is ready to send a mission into space.

Orbital ATK is using another company’s rocket to launch this shipment, as it works to get its own rocket, the Antares, flying again.

However, poor weather including rain and cloudy skies at the seaside Florida launch site forced ULA to postpone the launch.

The rocket and the company’s cargo ship were destroyed.

Orbital ATK says that until the Antares returns to service in 2016, future Cygnus missions will rely on the ULA Atlas V rocket.

The Cygnus capsule is named after Mercury astronaut Deke Slayton, a commercial space pioneer. Since then, the Russians have successfully launched two Progress missions and Japan launched one of its large HTV cargo ships.