Risky wind again stalls launch of space station supplies

The launch marks Orbital’s fourth scheduled mission to the orbiting outpost, as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to deliver necessities to the astronauts living in space. After getting rained out Thursday and shoved around by gusts of wind Friday and Saturday, this is the fourth attempt for the cargo craft to deliver supplies to the International Space Station.

If the Orbital ATK cargo ship arrives at the space station Wednesday as planned, it will represent the first US delivery in almost eight months. The mission marks Orbital’s first return to space since its Antares rocket blew up shortly after take off at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in October 2014. A SpaceX Dragon capsule also fell into the ocean when its Falcon 9 rocket exploded last June.

“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”, said Orbital in a statement.

Today’s launch was the ninth and final Atlas 5 flight of the year, the 12th and last for United Launch Alliance in 2015.

More than anyone, perhaps, the six space station astronauts were thrilled following all the weather-related delays. The Cygnus spacecraft, on a mission designated OA-4, separated from the rocket’s upper stage 21 minutes after liftoff after entering orbit 230 kilometers above the Earth. Apart from the Antares Cygnus launch past year, a Russian Progress ship failed to communicate with its mothership and has fallen back to Earth, burning up in the atmosphere. Its main products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; missile products, subsystems and defense electronics; precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition; satellites and associated space components and services; and advanced aerospace structures.

Due to the launch failures of the past 14 months, the station’s food stockpile had dwindled from NASA’s recommended six-month supply to just a couple of months’ worth of reserves.

United Launch Alliance manager Vernon Thorp couldn’t help but notice all the number fours in Sunday’s launch equation.

Cygnus, like most Orbital ATK spacecraft, is compatible with multiple launch vehicles, enabling the use of ULA’s Atlas V launch vehicle on this mission. The twin failures, both ending in spectacular fireballs that caused millions of dollars of loss, made some question NASA’s decision to contract out such important and hard missions to the private sector.

Orbital ATK Cygnus CRS-4 spacecraft poised for blastoff to ISS on ULA Atlas V on December 3, 2015 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.