ISS Launch from Virginia Scheduled for April

Test Flight of Orbital’s Antares Rocket Scheduled for April 16-18

A test flight of Orbital Sciences Corporation’s Antares rocket from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia is targeted to occur between April 16-18 at approximately 3 p.m. EDT, the day of launch.

This is the first launch of a medium sized rocket from this complex. A rocket this large could be viewed from as far away as Washington D.C and a significant part of the northeastern United States.

Antares is undergoing testing that will enable the rocket to eventually carry experiments and supplies to the International Space Station aboard a Cygnus cargo spacecraft. This test flight will not launch a Cygnus spacecraft or rendezvous with the space station. A demonstration flight of Cygnus to the orbiting laboratory is planned for later this year.

NASA also is inviting 25 social media users to apply for credentials for the Antares launch. Social media users selected to attend will be given the same access as journalists. All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Registration for social media accreditation is open online. Because of the security processing deadline, registration is limited to U.S. citizens. For U.S. social media, the application deadline is 5 p.m. March 29.

Dan Mantel - KnowledgeOrb Contributor