Space station getting 1st delivery from Virginia in 2 years
- by Minnie Bishop
- in Research
- — Oct 16, 2016
The launch had been scheduled for Friday night.
The unmanned Cygnus cargo ship will be blasted to the International Space Station by a two-stage Antares rocket developed by Orbital ATK, according to NASA.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) said yesterday that the next resupply trip to the space station has had to be postponed until Sunday at the earliest, due to the hurricane bearing down on the small Caribbean island. NASA officials say liftoff is planned for Sunday at 8:03 p.m.
An Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft is released from the International Space Station using a robotic arm in this image taken on June 14, 2016.
Scientists expect the storm Nicole to hit Bermuda on Thursday, Oct 13.
If the five launch delays dating back to May are any indication, engineers are making especially sure everything goes right this time around. Most of those launches are suborbital, and they've continued.
Orbital ATK is supposed to execute the resupply mission to space this week.
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The launch marks the first time Orbital ATK will launch its Antares rocket since one exploded shortly after liftoff almost two years ago.
For areas closer to the launch, the rocket will appear higher in the sky shorter after launch, while places farther away will have to wait several minutes until the glow of the rocket engines are visible above the horizon.
Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft will also be carrying science experiments, including the second Saffire experiment to light a fire in space.
NASA warned that the schedule could be changed again, depending on what happens with Nicole.
In order to make a bid with NASA to launch science missions, Orbital ATK will have to demonstrate at least one successful launch with its proposed vehicle, Eberly said.
This would be the first launch of the Antares rocket since it exploded at Wallops two years ago.
