NASA: Frigid weather prompts delay of Orbital launch

Sunday, January 5, 2014 - 08:33 From NASA Reports

The first Cygnus commercial cargo spacecraft built by Orbital Sciences Corp. attached to the end of the robotic arm on the International Space Station. --NASA image.

The International Space Station program and Orbital Sciences Corp. have postponed the launch of the Antares rocket and its Cygnus cargo craft to no earlier than Jan. 8 due to the forecast of cold temperatures at the launch site at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

     The launch -- the first Orbital commercial resupply mission to the space station -- was originally set for Jan. 7. The forecast for Jan. 8 also calls for cold temperatures. The station program and Orbital plan to revisit the weather forecast at the beginning of the week. The main concern with the weather is cold coupled with precipitation. Orbital says the Antares rocket has a lower limit temperature constraint of 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
     The launch time for Jan. 8 is 1:32 p.m. Eastern time. NASA TV coverage of launch will begin at 1 p.m.
      A launch on Wednesday will result in a grapple of Cygnus by the Expedition 38 crew aboard the station on Jan. 12 at 6:02 a.m. NASA TV coverage will begin at 5 a.m. Coverage of the installation of Cygnus on the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module will begin at 7 a.m.

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