Bad weather delays launch of U.S. cargo ship to ISS again
Xinhua, December 5, 2015 Adjust font size:
Bad weather on Friday forced the U.S. space agency NASA to delay the launch of a commercial cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) for the second time.
The liftoff of Orbital ATK's Cygnus spacecraft from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was postponed "because of wind gusts that exceeded the weather criteria for launching," NASA said in a launch blog.
Cygnus was originally scheduled to blast off on Thursday afternoon, but the mission was called off at the last minute due to thick clouds.
The new launch time is Saturday at 5:10 p.m. EST (2210 GMT). NASA said there is a 30 percent chance of favorable weather for Saturday's launch.
Orbital ATK is one of the two commercial companies hired by NASA after the space shuttles were retired to fly cargo to the ISS.
Its third cargo mission using the company's own Antares rocket was destroyed in a launch explosion in October last year.
The other company, SpaceX, was recovering from a similar launch explosion in June this year as well.
This time, the Cygnus spacecraft will deliver about 3,500 kilograms of cargo, including food and Christmas gifts, to the space station. Enditem