NASA resupply mission to space station: Orbital ATK's Antares rocket launch delayed by 24 hours due to glitch

Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

New Delhi: The launch of Orbtial ATK Antares rocket has been delayed by 24 hours due to a ground support equipment (GSE) that did not perform as expected during the pre-launch check out.

As per NASA, the launch is now scheduled for Monday, October 17 at 7:40 p.m. EDT (2340 GMT).

“We have spares on hand and rework procedures are in process,” says NASA.

The Antares rocket carrying Cygnus spacecraft, which is on a NASA cargo delivery mission to the International Space Station (ISS), is set for 8:03 p.m. EDT (0003 October 17 GMT) from Pad-0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Virginia.

NASA says the Cygnus cargo spacecraft - Orbital ATK’s sixth contracted resupply mission with NASA to the space station - will deliver over 5,100 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.

Orbital is one of two aerospace contractors under contract with NASA to ferry cargo to the space station.

The Antares and Cygnus teams are not currently working any technical issues with the rocket or the spacecraft.