Dangerous wind again stalls launch of space station supplies

The resupply spacecraft will make another attempt on Friday, December 4 at 5:33 PM EST.The mission also marks Orbital’s first launch from Florida, and the first cargo mission to the ISS from American soil since SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket was lost in June.

NASA is anxious to get its commercial supply chain moving again for the International Space Station.

The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the OA-4 mission was scrubbed today due to a ground winds violation for liftoff. But gusty wind interfered; launch controllers waited almost a half-hour for the wind to ease, but it did not.

NASA will televise the moment three astronauts return to Earth from the International Space Station.

For the second day in a row, foul weather threatens to stall a critical space station delivery for NASA. It had the last USA resupply success, back in April.

There is no problem recycling the rocket’s systems in time for a Saturday launch but there is uncertainty if all the support systems could be made ready again.

The next launch attempt is Saturday, although forecasters put the odds of acceptable conditions at a lowly 30 percent.

The cargo ship is loaded with 7,300 pounds (3,300 kilograms) of food, science experiments, and other supplies.

“The vehicle is fine”, said Vernon Thorpe, program manager for NASA missions at United Launch Alliance, during an interview on NASA TV.

Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko are spending one year in space – twice the typical mission duration – to provide researchers the opportunity to advance their knowledge of the medical, psychological and biomedical challenges faced by astronauts during long-duration spaceflight.

This is the first flight for the new Enhanced Cygnus spacecraft which has 25% more volume for cargo than previous Cygnus spacecraft.

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