Antares Rocket Launch At 6PM [Launch Aborted]

[Updated] The maiden flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket – which will streak through the skies high above the island — is scheduled to take place tonight [Apr. 17] during a three-hour launch window beginning at 6 p.m. Bermuda time.

The 131-foot rocket will blast off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island in Virginia on the first of three missions planned for this year which will prove Orbital Sciences’ readiness to undertake resupply missions to the International Space Station.

The primary payload is the Cygnus Mass Simulator [CMS], a vehicle intended to mimic the mass of a Cygnus spacecraft. During its ascent, Antares will be tracked by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration’s small Bermuda facility as well as tracking stations at Wallops Island, Coquina and Antigua.

Wallops Island will provide visual tracking during the early stages of flight, as well as radar tracking, command uplink and telemetry downlink. Coquina and Bermuda will provide radar tracking, telemetry downlink and command uplink, while Antigua will only provide downlink.

If today’s test is successful, the next trip will deliver supplies to the International Space Station. That would make Orbital the second private company after California’s SpaceX to dock with the space station. If needed, back-up launch opportunities are available April 18-21.

Space.com has reported that Bermuda “will likely have a clear view of Antares as it rockets by.” The rocket will launch from Virginia toward the southeast out over the Atlantic Ocean and towards Bermuda.

Update 5.29pm: The live stream on NASA has begun here.

Update 5.51pm: The rocket launch was aborted about 10 minutes prior to lift off due to a premature disconnection of an umbilical between the second stage and the tower.

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