Hurricane Gonzalo Threat Delays Antares Rocket Launch for NASA

Hurricane Gonzalo has pushed the next private cargo mission to the International Space Station back by at least three days.

Orbital Sciences' Cygnus spacecraft was scheduled to blast off on an unmanned supply run to the orbiting lab from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on Oct. 24.

But that liftoff has been delayed until at least Oct. 27 because Gonzalo is about to hit Bermuda, where key tracking equipment for Cygnus spacecraft' Antares rocket is located.

"Once the hurricane has passed Bermuda, a team from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility Range will return to the tracking site to assess the situation and begin the process of re-enabling the site's functionality to support the launch," Orbital Sciences representatives wrote in a mission update Wednesday (Oct. 15).

"Depending on the impact of the storm on Bermuda's essential infrastructure systems such as transportation, power and communications, the launch date could be moved later" than Oct. 27, they added.

Whenever it takes place, the Cygnus/Antares launch will kick off Virginia-based Orbital Sciences' third robotic cargo mission to the space station for NASA.

The company signed a $1.9 billion deal with the agency to complete eight such flights.



California-based SpaceX also makes unmanned supply runs to the orbiting lab for NASA using its Dragon capsule and Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX's $1.6 billion contract calls for the firm to fly 12 missions; it has completed three of them to date and is in the middle of the fourth.

Gonzalo took shape as a tropical storm on Sunday (Oct. 12) and intensified into a hurricane on Tuesday (Oct. 14). By Wednesday, Gonzalo rated as a Category 4 hurricane, meaning it boasted maximum sustained winds between 130 and 156 mph (209 to 251 km/h).

Orbital Science Cygnus cargo ship makes planned re-entry to Earth

This picture provided by NASA shows the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket launching with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard on July 13, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia

Orbital Sciences Corporation's unmanned Cygnus cargo ship disintegrated as planned Sunday as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere after a month-long resupply mission to the International Space Station.

The spacecraft had been released from the orbiting lab on Friday at 6:40 am (1040 GMT), and then stayed in independent orbit for two days, before firing its engines and pushing into Earth's atmosphere.

The de-orbit burn had been scheduled to take just under 30 minutes.

Cygnus reentry [17 Aug 2014]. Alexander Gerst commented on Twitter "In 84 days Reid, Max and I will ride home inside such an amazing fireball!" 

Credit: NASA/ESA/Alexander Gerst

The crew on board the space station watched and documented the spacecraft's plasma trail, posting pictures of the comet-like streak to Twitter.

Cygnus launched July 13 and arrived at the ISS three days later, bearing a load of 3,653 pounds (1,657 kilograms) of gear, food and science experiments.

The resupply mission was part of a billion dollar contract with NASA for multiple journeys to the ISS.

Orbital Sciences Cygnus cargo ship reaches International Space Station

This picture provided by NASA shows the Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, at sunrise on July 12, 2014 on launch Pad-0A at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia

Orbital Sciences Corporation's unmanned cargo ship arrived Wednesday at the International Space Station carrying a load of food and equipment for the six-man crew at the research outpost.

The vessel called Cygnus was grabbed by the space station's robotic arm at 6:36 am (1036 GMT) and completed the berthing procedure that attached the spaceship to the ISS at 1253 GMT, NASA said.

"Cygnus is now hard-mated to the International Space Station's Harmony module," where it will stay for the next four weeks, a commentator said on NASA's live broadcast of the event.

The spacecraft, which is shaped like a giant beer keg, launched from Wallops Island, Virginia on Sunday atop an Antares rocket.

Astronauts are scheduled to open the hatch on Thursday, but they may do so as early as Wednesday if the work of bolting the cargo ship to the orbiting lab goes faster than planned.

The spacecraft is packed with 3,653 pounds (1,657 kilograms) of gear for the space station.

Much of the load is prepackaged food for the crew, but the cargo also contains Earth-imaging satellites, experiments for growing arugula in space and a pump for the Japanese module to replace one that failed.

The mission, known as Orb-2, is the second of eight that Orbital has contracted with NASA, and is the third journey by a Cygnus to the International Space Station after a successful demonstration trip last year.

Orbital Sciences and SpaceX are the two private US companies that have won major contracts with NASA for multiple missions to carry supplies to the International Space Station.

Orbital's deal is worth $1.9 billion and SpaceX's contract is for $1.6 billion.