Dangerously windy again for launch of space station supplies

Image courtesy: NASA

Cape Canaveral (Florida): High wind once again threatened to keep space station supplies stuck on Earth.

An unmanned rocket loaded with 7,400 pounds (3,356 kilograms) of cargo for the International Space Station stood ready for a late afternoon liftoff today. But forecasters put the odds of acceptable weather at only 20 percent. Bad weather already has resulted in a pair of back-to-back launch delays.

NASA is anxious to get its commercial supply chain moving again. Its two suppliers have been grounded for months by launch accidents, and the space station pantry needs restocking.

Shipper Orbital ATK is using another company rocket, the venerable Atlas V, for this effort.

Before fueling the rocket for a 5:10 p.M. Launch attempt, managers planned to discuss the option of waiting until tomorrow for slightly better weather.

Besides food, Orbital's Cygnus cargo carrier contains clothes and toiletries for the six space station residents, as well as spacewalking gear, air-supply tanks and science experiments.