Antares Erected at Pad; Mon. Forecast at 98% ‘Go’

Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft aboard, was raised into vertical position at launch Pad-0A, early on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014, at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

The launch of Orbital’s CRS-3 Commercial Resupply Services mission is scheduled for no earlier than 6:45 p.m. EDT on Monday, Oct. 27, from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops. The latest forecast puts weather at 98-percent “go,” with the main concern being an extremely low chance of thick clouds.

Antares rocket rolls to pad — The Antares rocket’s journey to the launch pad began on the evening of Friday, Oct. 24, 2014, shortly before 5 p.m. **Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Chris Perry**

Antares raised into vertical position — The Antares rocket was raised to vertical position early on Saturday, Oct. 25. **Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky**

Antares raised to vertical position — **Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky**

Antares in vertical position — **Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky**

Antares at launch pad — This photo shows the Antares rocket on the morning of Oct. 25 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s launch Pad-0A at Wallops. **Credit: NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility/Joshua Murray**

The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with more than 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-3 mission is Orbital Sciences’ third contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA.

This mission is the third of eight Orbital flights NASA contracted with the company to resupply the space station, and the fourth trip by a Cygnus spacecraft to the orbiting laboratory.