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Managers for Orbital Sciences Corp. and NASA gave a “go” to proceed toward the Wednesday, Sept. 18, launch of Orbital’s demonstration resupply mission to the International Space Station, pending the outcome of a Wallops Range meeting Tuesday. Orbital is targeting a 10:50 a.m. EDT launch from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The NASA Launch Blog will begin continuous countdown coverage at 10:15 a.m.

There is a 75 percent chance of favorable weather at the time of launch. Low clouds below 6,000 feet are the primary concern for a weather violation. 

Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., has confirmed it will postpone by at least 24 hours the launch of its Antares rocket and Cygnus spacecraft on a demonstration mission to the International Space Station from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in eastern Virginia. The new launch window is targeted for Wednesday, Sept. 18 between 10:50 to 11:05 a.m. EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at Wallops. Rendezvous with the space station remains scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 22.

The postponement is due to a combination of Friday’s poor weather, which delayed roll-out of Antares to the launch pad, and a technical issue identified during a combined systems test held Friday night involving communications between ground equipment and the rocket’s flight computer. The problem has been identified and corrected. The teams are working to understand why the problem occurred.

For the latest information about the launch and mission, and updated briefing and NASA Television coverage times, visit: www.nasa.gov/orbital.