Uncrewed spacecraft to launch on mission to resupply Space Station

A resupply mission is scheduled to head for the International Space Station tonight: The Orbital ATK company’s Cygnus spacecraft, named S. S. Deke Slayton II, should launch at 22:55 UTC (5:55 p.m. Eastern US time) today (Thursday, Dec. 3).

An Orbital ATK Inc. rocket launch to resupply the International Space Station was delayed because of bad weather Thursday. That was the day an Antares rocket carrying a Cygnus spacecraft-both built by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences-blew up just seconds after leaving the pad at the Wallops Island Flight Facility. Shortly after that failure, Orbital purchased an Atlas 5 launch from ULA to fulfill its contractual requirements to NASA to deliver cargo to the ISS.

Orbital ATK plans to resume operations of its Antares rocket in 2016. It’s the first launch for Orbital since the company’s Antares rocket exploded on the launchpad last October, so the pressure to succeed is particularly high.

When the rocket does blast off, it will mark the 60th launch of an Atlas V rocket and the 30th launch of the rocket’s 401 configuration, but it’s the first time this type of rocket will ever launch a cargo ship to the International Space Station.

Thursday’s launch attempt was rained out. NASA’s other contracted supplier, SpaceX, also remains stuck on Earth. The craft is carrying experiments and more supplies, like food, for the crew on board, according to NASA. “We are pleased that the enhanced Cygnus that bears his name will be able to provide up to 53 percent more in cargo weight to the International Space Station than our previously flown standard version”, Frank Culbertson, president of Orbital ATK’s Space Systems Group, said in a statement. The company’s Falcon rocket ended up in the Atlantic at the end of June, along with a new docking port and everything else destined for the space station.