Orbital Sciences Rocket Set to Launch

Orbital Sciences Corp., a Dulles, Va.-based space technology company, is prepared to launch its Antares rocket carrying the firm’s new Cygnus cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station (ISS) on Sept. 18, 2013. The lift-off is scheduled for 10:50 a.m. (EDT) from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. 

 

Following in-orbit activation shortly after launch, Cygnus will carry out a series of tests and maneuvers over a four-day period to demonstrate its readiness to rendezvous and berth with the ISS, now planned for Sunday, Sept. 22.

 

The spacecraft is carrying 1,300 lb (590kg) of food, clothes, and other items as part of a test flight. A demonstration launch of the rocket in April was successful.

 

If this latest mission succeeds, Orbital Sciences will start launching more Cygnus cargo ships under a $1.9 billion contract with NASA. The commercial effort began more than five years ago.