PHOTOS: Night shots of Antares rocket

The countdown for the first launch of the Orbital Sciences Corp. Antares rocket was halted 12 minutes before liftoff Wednesday after an Ethernet umbilical cable prematurely disconnected from the booster's second stage.

The Antares launch team drained the rocket of liquid propellants Wednesday evening, and these photos show the 13-story launcher on the pad at Wallops Island, Va., on Wednesday night.

Liftoff is reset for no earlier than Friday at 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT).

See our Mission Status Center for the latest news on the launch.

Photo credit: Stephen Clark/Spaceflight Now