14 DAY TRIAL // The Cygnus private spacecraft developed by Virginia-based Orbital Sciences Corporation (OSC) is getting ready for a prospective launch this Thursday, on December 19. NASA officials hope that the spacecraft will be ready to launch to the International Space Station sometime this week.
A decision is more difficult to reach than usual due to an issue affecting Loop A on the station's cooling system. It may be possible that time slots on Thursday will be filled by an extravehicular activity meant to address the potentially hazardous issue. NASA is keeping both options open at this point.
Cygnus is poised to launch aboard an OSC-built Antares rocket, from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility, on Wallops Island, Virginia. The vehicle fairing is scheduled to be installed aboard the delivery system today, December 16, and the entire ensemble will roll out to its launch pad tomorrow.
The space capsule carries a total of 1,261 kg (2,780 pounds) of supplies to the ISS, including science experiments, provisions, spare parts, fuel for the station's altitude-control thrusters, and personal items for the six astronauts of Expedition 38. This is the first ISS resupply flight to be conducted by OSC.