We’re less than an hour-and-a-half from the launch of Orbital ATK’s Cygnus cargo spacecraft on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.
All eyes are on the weather right now, with the forecast changed to a 30 percent chance of acceptable conditions at launch time. Air Force meteorologists are watching for thick clouds and disturbed weather. The launch team has a 30-minute window today to send the Atlas V and Cygnus on their way to deliver more than 7,300 pounds of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.
Countdown is on schedule for 5:55 p.m. EST from here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida adjacent to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The rocket is being loaded with super-cold propellants right now.
We will give you up-to-the-moment updates throughout this afternoon’s countdown and show you some of the details of the research that this mission will enable as station residents continue their work off the Earth for Earth and help find answers for future crews who will make an eventual journey to Mars. You can also watch launch coverage live on NASA TV either on your television or streaming at www.nasa.gov/ntv.