PHOTOS: Antares rocket transported to launch pad

BY STEPHEN CLARK
SPACEFLIGHT NOW

Posted: January 5, 2014


For the second time in three weeks, Orbital Sciences transferred an Antares rocket to its Virginia launch pad Sunday for launch this week on a resupply flight to the International Space Station.

The one-mile trip from the Antares assembly hangar occurred Sunday afternoon. An issue with a hydraulics system on the rocket's mobile transporter delayed the rollout from Saturday night.

The launch was delayed from mid-December to give astronauts on the space station time to mount a pair of repair spacewalks to change out a degraded coolant pump on the outside of the complex. The Antares rocket was already on the launch pad when NASA decided to forego the resupply flight in December and reschedule the mission for January.

Technicians rolled the launcher back to the horizontal integration facility to allow access to the rocket's Cygnus resupply spacecraft for refurbishment of some of its experimental cargo.

Orbital Sciences officials say liftoff is set for no earlier than Wednesday at 1:32 p.m. EST (1832 GMT) from launch pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The company announced a one-day delay in the launch Friday due to record cold temperatures forecast at the launch site Tuesday, when the high will struggle to get above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature limit in the Antares rocket's weather constraints.

The high temperature Wednesday is forecast to be 32 degrees Fahrenheit, according to National Weather Service.

If launch occurs Wednesday or Thursday, the Cygnus spacecraft is due to arrive at the space station Jan. 12.

See our Mission Status Center for live coverage of the launch.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Credit: Orbital Sciences Corp.

Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

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