Antares rocket launch from Wallops Island postponed

The launch window is only five minutes long. However, all of South Jersey will have a view of the launch, weather permitting.

Orbital ATK is launching a resupply mission to the International Space Station tonight with its Cygnus spacecraft.

Orbital ATK is a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies. He will be reporting from on site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility, VA during the launch campaign. (L = launch) Image credit: Orbital ATK.

The previous Antares rocket exploded in a fireball on October 28, 2014 just seconds after liftoff, destroying the cargo capsule and damaging the launch pad.

The trajectory of the rocket, as it will appear from downtown D.C. Note: for 54 seconds between the first and second stages, it will not be visible.

Orbital has a $1.9 billion contract with NASA to ferry supplies to the space station. Poindexter flew on two space shuttle missions that delivered modules to the ISS.

For Monday’s launch, Orbital will use a newer engine, also Russian built, on its Antares rocket. The current crew of three will double in size with the launch of three more astronauts from Kazakhstan on Wednesday.

The Lighting Effects investigation tests a new lighting system aboard the station created to enhance crew health and keep their body clocks in proper sync with a more regular working and resting schedule.

Orbital ATK returned to flight Monday evening by christening a refurbished Virginia launchpad with a smooth rocket liftoff two years after an explosion caused $15 million in damage. The goal of the mission is to bring supplies to the current ISS crew composed of Commander Anatoly Ivanishin, Kate Rubins, and Takuya Onishi. They will be replaced in November. OA-5 is the sixth of these missions. In addition, a NanoRacks deployer will release several cubesats used for weather forecasting. For the first time, they will be released from an altitude above the ISS, providing a longer orbital lifetime.

That rocket and its cargo module were carrying 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments. The experiment will be conducted remotely after Cygnus departs the station but before its fiery descent back to Earth. Cygnus spacecraft are not created to survive reentry and are used for trash disposal. AP material published by LongIsland.com, is done so with explicit permission.

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