Bad weather causes ISS cargo rocket launch delay

The latest commercial resupply mission for the International Space Station was gassed up and ready to go on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Friday evening, but uncooperative weather forced those in charge to scrub the liftoff for a second straight day.

The launch of the Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS), planned for Thursday, has been cancelled because of bad weather conditions, the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said. “The forecast tomorrow calls for a 30% chance of acceptable conditions at launch time”, NASA reported. The spacecraft is capable of delivering more than 7,700 pounds of essential crew supplies, equipment and scientific experiments to the International Space Station.

The Orbital Sciences/ATK Cygnus CRS-3 mission was lost when its Antares launcher exploded on the pad on October 28, 2014 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

A successful launch would restart the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s effort to commercialize resupply missions to the ISS.

– A rocket is poised for an evening launch from Cape Canaveral, the first USA cargo launch to the space station after two high-profile failures.

The two companies have split a $3.6 billion NASA flight contract and are competing with Sierra Nevada Corp. for a new, $3.5 billion deal that is expected to be awarded in January. There will be a 30-minute launch window at that time.

Orbital ATK plans to resume operations of its Antares rocket in 2016.

Eight months after Orbital’s explosion, SpaceX, the other company NASA relies on to ferry cargo to the station, also saw its rocket explode.

Saturday also is a possibility, but United Launch Alliance still does not have full clearance that the range – the area beneath the rocket’s early path – will be clear and available.

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.