Repair crews in Virginia have restored the Antares booster’s launch pad — damaged in an explosive rocket crash nearly one year ago — to flight-ready status as the Orbital ATK launcher moves toward a return-to-flight in 2016.
Northrop Grumman engineers were able to create a new burn plan for the spacecraft after it missed two attempts to perform its “targeted altitude burn.” Capture using the robotic Canadarm2 happened at 3:11 a.m. EDT (0711 UTC) on Tuesday, Aug. 6.
Follow the Atlas 5 rocket’s ascent into orbit from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 41 launch pad with the Orbital ATK Cygnus resupply ship for the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for Tuesday at 11:05 p.m. EDT (0305 GMT).